Belgian prime minister Charles Michel resigns after losing no confidence vote

Resignation follows violent right-wing protests in Brussels over signing of UN migration pact

Belgian prime minister Charles Michel has resigned after losing a no-confidence vote.

Mr Michel relaunched his government a week ago as a minority administration after the biggest party in his coalition, the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA) quit in a dispute over signing the UN migration pact.

Rightwing critics have said the agreement could increase immigration and last week protests in Brussels turned violent as thousands of demonstrators marched over the signing of the pact in Marrakech.

The socialists and greens had put forward the motion of no confidence.

In an address at the country’s parliament, Mr Michel said he would notify Belgium’s King Phillipe.

As legislators applauded, he picked up his briefcase, shook the hands of a number of government ministers, and left.

Mr Michel refused to call an early election despite calls from some in the assembly; he said such a move would only lead to “stagnation for the whole of 2019”. Parliamentary elections are due in May.

But Belgium’s King Philippe has not yet taken a decision on whether to accept the resignation offered by Mr Michel, the royal palace said on Tuesday night.

At the protests last week, police used water cannon and tear gas on protesters at the march organised by Flemish rightwing parties.

The UN’s global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration was signed by 164 countries in Marrakech earlier this month, but the US and several European countries including Hungary, Poland, Austria and Slovakia refused to adopt the agreement.

Counter protesters in Brussels who supported the migration pact described those marching as fascist groups.

The deal is not legally binding, but aims to introduce an international accord on migration which “reaffirms the sovereign rights of states to determine their national migration policy” and asserts the “fundamental” importance of legal border crossing.