European Commission Vice-President Josep Borrell intervened last Saturday at La Toja Forum.Gustavo de la Paz (Europa Press)
Late on Saturday, the EU ambassador to Nicaragua, Bettina Muscheidt, boarded a plane in Europe to leave the Central American country. That day was the deadline given to Daniel Ortega by the government to leave when he declared her persona non grata. Less than 24 hours later, the EU responded. The EU’s foreign service (EEAS), headed by the Spaniard Josep Borrell, has cautiously announced that it intends to “react decisively and appropriately” to the diplomatic crisis triggered by Managua.
Nicaraguan authorities informed Muscheidt last Wednesday that he had three days to leave the country. No one in Brussels officially confirmed the news, although it was an open secret, as this newspaper published last Thursday. In reality, Borrell’s team calibrated the response so as not to further damage already strained relationships.
“The European Union regrets and rejects the unjustified and unilateral decision. The EU also deeply regrets the disproportionate and unjustified unilateral decision by the Nicaraguan government on Friday to sever diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of the Netherlands and expresses its unconditional support for the Dutch government,” read the statement issued on Sunday.
In Brussels it is emphasized that the move by Daniel Ortega’s regime not only damages the already very precarious relationship, but also further isolates Nicaragua internationally.
Borrell has spent many months taking a hard line against the regime imposed in Nicaragua by Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo. The head of community diplomacy does not hesitate to unequivocally describe what is happening in the Central American country as a “dictatorship”.
Despite the fact that this is the conception of the regime and the step chosen by Managua, the reaction given by the Municipal Council this Sunday can be described as cautious. While he speaks of an “appropriate” response, which could be interpreted as the Nicaraguan representative’s future expulsion from the Community institutions, the door remains open for negotiations to find a way out of the situation.
Subscribe to EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without limits.
Subscribe to
Follow all international information on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter.