The early version of the bill on funding US foreign policy (State Reauthorisation Act) in the House of Representatives includes important provisions at strengthening the 3+1 scheme (Greece, Cyprus, Israel and the USA) and institutionalising American interest in security matters in the Eastern Mediterranean.

These provisions from part of the bill submitted a few months earlier by Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, focused on cooperation in counter-terrorism and maritime security in the Eastern Mediterranean. The State Reauthorisation Act incorporated the diplomatic provisions of the original text, while the defence provisions were included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

Provisions included in the State Reauthorisation Act provide for the extension of the 3+1 Interparliamentary Cooperation Group (US-Greece-Cyprus-Israel) until 2027. 

The group was established by the US-Greece Defence and Interparliamentary Partnership Act of 2021, introduced by Senator Robert Menendez, and is set to expire at the end of 2025. It also calls for the creation of a security sub-group comprising six members of Congress and six senators.

In fact, the provisions of the bill go one step further, as for the first time the 3+1 scheme is institutionalised at the executive level with the establishment of an Interagency Cooperation Group for Security in the Eastern Mediterranean. 

The group will include representatives from the State Department, the Department of Defense and the Department of Homeland Security, who will meet twice a year with officials from Greece, Cyprus and Israel to discuss terrorism and maritime security issues.

The bill also extends to Cyprus, incorporating a regulation proposed by Congressman Chris Pappas on the arms embargo. The provision does not lift the embargo but extends its renewal period from one to five years, paving the way for longer-term armament planning by the government of the Republic of Cyprus.

Consideration of the State Reauthorisation Act in the Committee on Foreign Affairs has been completed, and is now expected to be debated in the House of Representatives once the US government resumes full operation.

In the Senate, however, Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch has not yet filed a corresponding State Reauthorisation Act, leaving the final outcome of the provisions included in the House version of the bill uncertain.

Source: AMNA

Also read: Egypt | Research activities in the Eastern Mediterranean that “validate” the Greek-Egyptian agreement on the EEZ

*This article was translated and summarised from its Greek original.