Serbian MPs vote to support Kosovo deal

The majority of Serbia's parliament has voted to normalise relations with the state of Kosovo. Source: AAP

SERBIAN MPs have overwhelmingly supported an agreement normalising relations with breakaway Kosovo, a potentially landmark deal that could put them both on a path to European Union membership.

Parliament backed the deal in a 173-24 vote. The agreement drew support from the parties of the ruling, nationalist-led government and the centre-left opposition. A pro-Russian, nationalist party was the only group that voted against it.

Parliamentary backing is a boost for the Serbian government, which reached the agreement with Kosovo this month in Brussels, but has faced pressure from nationalists and Serb hardliners in Kosovo's divided north, who rejected it.

"This is not just a simple vote about the agreement," Prime Minister Ivica Dacic told MPs at the end of the daylong, heated debate.

"This vote shows what we stand for and which way we want to go."

Serbia has rejected Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence - which has been recognised by more than 90 countries including the US and 22 of the EU's 27 members - but it must improve ties with the former province to advance its bid to join the EU.

"The agreement with Pristina has sent a strong message across the whole of Europe about Serbia's European attitude," EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fule said earlier Friday during a visit to Belgrade.

The deal will give Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership authority over rebel Kosovo Serbs, ending Serbia's control in northern Kosovo. The Serbs, in return, will be granted wide-ranging autonomy.

Nationalists have insisted that this amounted to treason. Slobodan Samardzic, an MP from nationalist Serbian Democratic Party, said during the parliamentary debate that "the agreement means our people must give up their state."

Several hundred extremists rallied outside parliament amid a heavy police presence.

Top Serbian leaders have said a referendum on the deal is possible, counting on popular support to silence dissent and enable easier implementation on the ground in Kosovo.

Serbia relinquished control of most of Kosovo in 1999 when NATO chased its troops out of the region in a three-month bombing campaign.

The EU has insisted on ending the partition of Kosovo between the Albanian majority and the Serb-controlled north - about a fifth of the country.

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