A bipartisan bill extending the duration of the lifting of the arms embargo on the Republic of Cyprus from one to five years was submitted by Democratic Senator Cory Booker and his Republican colleague Jerry Moran to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
The aim of the initiative is to ensure greater stability in military cooperation between the United States and Cyprus, without requiring annual renewal of the relevant embargo exemption.
The vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled for Wednesday, October 22. Although final approval by the full Senate is required, a positive vote in the Committee is expected to provide a significant boost to the legislative progress of the regulation.
The Connection with the House of Representatives
This development is directly linked to the work in the House of Representatives, where Greek-American Representative Chris Pappas has included a corresponding provision in the State Department Reauthorization Act, the annual bill that sets the policies and priorities of American diplomacy. However, there is no corresponding version of the bill in the Senate. This means that, in order for the lifting of the embargo to proceed in practice, the bill will either have to follow an autonomous course and be approved by the plenary of the House and Senate as a standalone bill or be incorporated as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets the annual defense budget of the United States.
If the Booker-Moran bill finally receives the "green light" from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday, combined with the fact that the proposal has already been approved by the House Foreign Affairs Committee through the State Reauthorization Act, then the chances of it being included in the final text of the NDAA will be significantly enhanced.
What the Booker-Moran Bill Provides
The bill submitted to the Senate amends two key pieces of legislation that include references to the need to renew the lifting of the embargo on Cyprus.
Specifically, section 205 of the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act (EastMed Act) of 2019 is amended, as well as section 1250A of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2020.
In both cases, the bill replaces the phrase “one fiscal year” with “five fiscal years.” With this change, the lifting of the embargo would not require annual re-approval by the State Department, but would be in effect for five years before a review would be required.
Source: skai.gr
