The 1.67 billion euro ($1.8 billion) budget was approved with 78 votes in favor after opposition lawmakers were barred from entering the sideroom after having unleashed tear gas in the assembly to disrupt proceedings. The speaker of the Parliament, made a decision to interrupt the sitting, by asking an urgent meeting of the heads of the parliamentary groups.
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“This is a collective action by the opposition”, said MP Glauk Konjufca, one of those who released the gas.
Politicians put on gas masks and stood defiantly in the debating chamber in Pristina as smoke filled the room. Clouds of smoke from two tear fuel canisters forced lawmakers out of the debating chamber on December 14, the newest in a collection of disruptions brought on by the opposition since mid-Sept.
Tear gas has been released in the Kosovan parliament by opposition MPs seeking to disrupt the session and force the government to revoke agreements with Serbia and Montenegro.
Meanwhile, dozens of protesters gathered outside the parliament, throwing stones and paint at the building. There were no reports of any injuries.
One lawmaker was reportedly arrested.
They are particularly opposed to an agreement that would give more autonomy to Kosovo’s ethnic Serb minority, saying it would deepen Kosovo’s ethnic divide and increase Serbia’s influence.
Over the past three months, the opposition has blocked Kosovo’s parliament with tear gas, pepper spray, whistles and water bottles to protest against the deals, and their supporters have held violent protests in Pristina.
Kosovo in 2008 declared independence from Serbia, an act that Serbia still rejects.
The European Union has been brokering talks and agreements between Serbia and Kosovo in an attempt to improve relations between the two sides, which fought a 1998-99 war.
The opposition has demanded a referendum or fresh election if the Kosovo administration refused to halt the deals. The government, the president and the global community have called for dialogue.
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Kosovo signed a border demarcation deal with neighboring Montenegro, which the opposition say would lead to Kosovo’s loss of territory.
