A bipartisan bill extending the lifting of the arms embargo to the Republic of Cyprus from one to five years was introduced by Democratic Senator Cory Booker and Republican colleague Jerry Moran in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The aim of the initiative is to ensure greater stability in the military cooperation between the United States and Cyprus, without requiring an annual renewal of the relevant exemption from the embargo.

A 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 legislation’s legislative path.

The Connection with the House of Representatives

This development is directly related to the work in the House of Representatives, where expatriate congressman Chris Pappas has inserted a corresponding provision in the State Department Reauthorization Act, the annual bill that defines the policies and priorities of American diplomacy.However, in the Senate there is no corresponding version of the bill. This means that, for the lifting of the embargo to actually go ahead, the bill would either have to follow an autonomous course and be passed by the full House and Senate as a stand-alone bill or be incorporated as an amendment to the National Defense Act (NDAA), which sets the annual defense budget of the United States.

If the Booker-Moran bill finally gets the green light 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 greatly enhanced.

What the Booker-Moran Bill Provides

The bill tabled 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, section 205 of the Eastern Mediterranean Energy and Security Partnership Act (EastMed Act) of 2019 is amended, as well as section 1250A of the National Defense Appropriation 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 need annual re-approval by the State Department, but will be in effect for five years before a review is required.