The European Union has criticized Nicaragua’s decision to expel its ambassador and cut ties with the Netherlands, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Sunday.

President Daniel Ortega’s left-wing government is facing mounting diplomatic pressure over what the United States is calling a dramatic deterioration in human rights — which has led to the jailing of dozens of political opponents, students and journalists.

“The EU deeply regrets and rejects this unjustified and unilateral decision,” Borrell said of the expulsion, also expressing “unwavering support” for the Netherlands.

“These hostile, unwarranted actions” would not only affect Nicaragua-EU relations but lead to Managua’s further international isolation, Borrell said.

The bloc will respond “firmly and proportionately,” he added.

“The current political crisis in Nicaragua should be resolved through genuine dialogue between the government and the opposition.”

European Union envoy Bettina Muscheidt left Nicaragua on Saturday, a day after authorities there declared their persona non grata.

Managua cut ties with the Dutch government on Friday night, describing The Hague as “interventionist” and “neo-colonialist” after its ambassador Christine Pirenne said her country would not fund the construction of a hospital.