An amendment passed by the House of Representatives to the US defence budget bill provides for exploring the possibilities of expanding the US military presence in Greece, with a particular focus on the islands.

The amendment in question calls for the Secretary of Defence and the Secretary of State to jointly submit a report on the security relationship between the US and Greece to the appropriate congressional committees.

The Senate has already voted in favor of its own bill and now the two legislative bodies are in negotiations to shape the final text which will be sent to US President Joe Biden to be signed.

The House amendment provides that the report should be filed within two months of the signing of the final bill (NDAA), including the following information:

• Analysis of the potential for additional bases or an expanded US military presence in the Hellenic Republic, particularly on the Greek islands.
• Description of basing rights granted to the United States under the updated US-Greece Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA).
• Description of US activities and investments in the bases included in the MDCA.
• Assessment of the status of cooperation in the field of security, according to the requirements of the US-Greece Defence and Interparliamentary Partnership Act of 2021.

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The Mutual Defence Cooperation Agreement (MDCA) between the US and Greece is enjoying bipartisan support with many legislators looking positively at the possibility of its further expansion and growth.

However, it must be clarified that this particular amendment has not yet been adopted, therefore it remains to be seen how its final outcome will evolve, as there is no corresponding reference in the relevant bill that the Senate has already voted for. This is extremely common in the law-making process, as it is standard practice not to have identical versions of the bill at this level.

As mentioned above, we are now in the next phase, where the two legislative bodies are in conference in order to “reconcile” the two different versions. However, this composition process involves difficult negotiations that are influenced by the general climate of polarization prevailing in the US and go beyond the content of the individual amendments themselves.

Based on these facts, it remains to be seen whether the amendment will eventually be in the final text of the NDAA that will reach President Biden.

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