Tear gas flies but Kosovo deal passes
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo lawmakers on Wednesday approved a contentious and long-pending border demarcation deal with Montenegro despite the opposition’s use of tear gas to prevent a vote.
The 120-seat parliament voted 80-11 to endorse the deal, ensuring its passage with the minimum two-thirds support required.
The European Union has set the border agreement as a precondition for Kosovo’s citizens to travel without visas in Europe’s Schengen travel zone.
Kosovo Assembly Speaker Kadri Veseli said he was hopeful the EU would follow through and let Kosovars enjoy visa-free travel, as citizens of other Balkan region countries already do.
The opposition Self-Determination party says Kosovo loses 20,000 acres of its territory under the agreement, which was reached in August 2015. The previous government and international experts deny that.
At least two lawmakers were injured in the tear-gas dispersal. In the chaos, the session failed four consecutive times to call the vote, but Veseli insisted it would take place.