PRISTINA, Kosovo — Lawmakers in Kosovo approved a contentious and long-pending border demarcation deal with Montenegro Wednesday 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 European Union would follow through and let Kosovars go visa-free, 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.

Opposition leader Albin Kurti complained that most of the party’s lawmakers were barred from the vote or taken away by police for questioning after the tear gas was set off in the Kosovo Assembly.

At least two lawmakers were injured. Amid the chaos, the session failed four consecutive times to call the vote.

associated press