Brussels - (AFP) - The European Union on Monday declared Nicaragua's ambassador to Brussels "persona non grata" in response to the expulsion of its ambassador in Managua, EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell said.

He said in a statement, "The Council (the body of the European Union) agreed today to declare the head of the mission of the Republic of Nicaragua to the European Union persona non grata."

He added, "He reciprocated the decision of the Nicaraguan government on September 28 to declare the head of the European Union mission to Nicaragua persona non grata. The European Union considers Nicaragua's decision unjustified."

Borrell said he would respond "firmly and equally" to Nicaragua's decision to expel its ambassador to Managua.

"The European Union deeply regrets and rejects this unilateral and unjustified decision," he said, a day after the expulsion of Ambassador Bettina Muschet.

"The European Union also deeply regrets the unilateral, disproportionate and unjustified decision taken by the Nicaraguan government on Friday to sever diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and expresses its firm support for the Dutch government," Borrell said in a statement.

Borrell stressed that "these hostile and unjustified steps will not only affect the bilateral relations between Nicaragua and the European Union and its member states, but will also lead to a growing international isolation of Nicaragua."

The international community continues to denounce the deviation of the regime of Daniel Ortega, who was re-elected in November 2021 for a fourth term in a ballot in which all his potential opponents were absent, arrested, or forced to leave the country.

The European Union and the United States imposed several sanctions on Nicaragua and its officials in the last four years, especially against the backdrop of human rights violations.