PRISTINA, Kosovo — Opposition lawmakers in Kosovo disrupted the parliament’s session Thursday, using tear gas and whistles to protest the government’s recent European Union-sponsored deal with Serbia giving the country’s Serb-majority areas greater powers.
The opposition wants the government to backtrack from the deal, saying it endangers Kosovo’s territorial integrity.
“The agreements reached in Brussels and the border demarcation with Montenegro will not pass,” said a joint statement of the opposition bloc of the Vetevendosje (Self-Determination) Movement, Alliance for the Future of Kosovo and Initiative for Kosovo.
Serbia rejects Kosovo’s 2008 secession, already recognized by more than 100 countries.
At least three gas canisters were opened during the parliamentary session.
Kosovo President Atifete Jahjaga denounced the “nasty actions of the opposition’s lawmakers.”
Parliamentary Speaker Kadri Veseli continued the session, inviting the opposition to take part in the debate.