US Senate introduces bill to lift 5-year arms embargo on Cyprus

A bipartisan bill that extends 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 initiative aims to ensure greater stability in military cooperation between the United States and Cyprus, without requiring annual renewal of the relevant exemption from the embargo.

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 give 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 fellow Greek Congressman Chris Pappas has included a corresponding provision in the State Department Reauthorization Act, the annual bill that determines the policies and priorities of American diplomacy.

However, there is no corresponding version of the bill in the Senate. This means that, in order to actually lift the embargo, the bill will either have to follow an autonomous path and be approved by the full House and Senate as a stand-alone 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" on Wednesday from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, 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 strengthened.

What the Booker-Moran Bill Provides

The bill introduced in the Senate amends two key pieces of legislation that include references to the need to renew the lifting of the embargo on Cyprus.

Specifically, it amends Section 205 of the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019 (EastMed Act), 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 will not require annual re-approval by the State Department, but will be in effect for five years before a review is required.