ÜDS-Sosyal 2010-1 Soru=54

In the passage, attention is drawn to the fact that -----.

Several EU member states enjoy long-standing political
and economic links with Latin America. In fact, it was in
the 1960s and 1970s that the EU first began expanding
its ties to the region through a series of diplomatic
initiatives and agreements aimed at promoting
democracy, addressing development issues, and
boosting trade and investment. Moreover, the EU
actively worked for peace in the troubled Central
American region in the 1980s. In the meantime, the
accession in 1986 of Spain and Portugal to the EU
further strengthened region-to-region ties. EU
engagement in Latin America increased during the
1990s as a formal political dialogue was put in place to
advance issues of common interest, including how the
EU and Latin America together can act in concert with
other nations and international organizations to
address global issues and challenges.