The president of European Parliament (EP)Roberta Metsola, said that the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo “You cannot continue to isolate your country from the international community”referring to the expulsion of the head of the European delegation in Nicaragua, Bettina Muscheidtand the rupture of diplomatic relations with the Netherlands.
In a statement, read at the opening of the weekly session of the European Parliament, Metsola lamented that the situation in Nicaragua occurs two weeks after the MEPs called for “an inclusive dialogue and a peaceful solution to the human rights crisis.”
On September 15, a large majority of the European Parliament passed a resolution on Nicaragua, “particularly the arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez.” In it, the MEPs ask the regime to release all political prisoners “immediately and unconditionally” and “that all judicial proceedings against them and the sentences imposed be annulled.”
The Maltese politician warned that “the European Parliament will always fight against the erosion of democratic structures” in Nicaragua. “Together with our allies, we are committed to a return to order, based on the norms of interest of the Nicaraguan people.”
Since 2018, MEPs have approved seven resolutions on the Nicaraguan situation. One in May 2018; another in March 2019 —after the visit of a delegation of MEPs to the country—; a third in December 2019; a fourth in October 2020; the fifth in July 2021; the sixth in December of the same year; and the last one in June.
reciprocal response
Spanish MEP Soraya Rodríguez published a tweet last Sunday in which she assured that the “expulsion of the head of the EU delegation in Nicaragua is unacceptable,” and that the European Union must “apply the principle of reciprocity.”
The expulsion of the head of the EU delegation in Nicaragua is unacceptable. An example of the isolation of democracies that Ortega seeks.
We must apply the principle of reciprocity and continue creating ways to stay close to the Nicaraguan people.https://t.co/PUWMKHgLV4– Soraya Rodríguez (@sorayarr_) October 2, 2022
Rodríguez’s comment is in accordance with the position of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policies, Josep Borrell, who this weekend announced that will respond in a “firm” and “proportionate” manner to the “hostile” and “unjustified” actions of the Nicaraguan regime.
In a consultation of CONFIDENTIALthe former European deputy, Ramón Jáuregui, considered that, although the EU does not want to respond with a total break with Managua, it should be seriously considered Nicaragua’s exclusion from trade they maintain with Central America.
“With these attitudes, the only thing that can be expected is a breakdown of everything. Honestly, I think there is no room for commercial transactions”, warned the Spanish politician.
