7 ms·

Notice to stakeholders: withdrawal of the UK and EU rules on .eu domain names

67 points by stryk 9y ago

hanoz 9y ago
I can't find any reference to a condition that forbids owners from renewing a .eu domain after leaving the EU in more usual circumstances, like emigration. If true it would be a very unreasonable condition which would seriously undermine the value of the domain for would be registrants, so I'm surprised it's not something that's been highlighted before. If it's not the case then clearly brexit exiteers ought to be treated at least as well. In reality this announcement is likely to be politically motivated posturing on an issue which is to be agreed as part of the brexit negotiations, not something that is going to be decreed unilaterally.
- pjc50 9y ago
  You're not looking hard enough, or maybe at all. https://eurid.eu/media/filer_public/76/48/7648e621-0c5d-4c09-8bde-e5622cb6b23e/registration_policy_en.pdf https://eurid.eu/media/filer_public/76/48/7648e621-0c5d-4c09... Must be "a natural person resident within the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein" If the Registrant files a request for a Domain Name registration and is unable to meet, or no longer meets, the above conditions, the Registry is entitled to reject the request or to revoke the Domain Name concerned at any time in accordance with Sections 6 .4 and 8.4 of the Terms and Conditions. (Why Liechtenstein? Not part of the EU: "Liechtenstein is a member of the United Nations, European Free Trade Association, and the Council of Europe, and while not being a member of the European Union, the country participates in both the Schengen Area and European Economic Area. It also has a customs union and a monetary union with Switzerland") > "is to be agreed as part of the brexit negotiations" They need to get a bloody move on with this. There's a year left and a huge list of things in the same state of needing to be agreed.
deleted 9y ago
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yorwba 9y ago
That title is highly editorialized. The actual effect is just that .eu domains will have to be renewed through a registrar that's established in the EU. Most major registrars probably already fulfill that requirement, and those that don't shouldn't have any problem with founding an EU subsidiary. EDIT: Missed the part where "Accredited .eu Registrars will not be entitled to process any request for the registration of or for renewing registrations of .eu domain names by those [UK] undertakings, organisations and persons." Still, I bet the vast majority of domains will be transferred to some shell entity in the EU, even if it's just domain owners selling off domains they can't renew anymore.
- nkkollaw 9y ago
  What about the "and natural persons who reside in the United Kingdom" part..?
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- christop 9y ago
  No, the text says that all .eu registrars will no longer be able to accept .eu registrations or renewals from entities in the UK.
- icebraining 9y ago
  .eu domains are restricted to EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein residents and organizations[1]. By leaving, UK residents and organizations not established in one of those countries lose the right to register or renew a domain. Plus, even existing registration can be summarily revoked by the Registry. [1] https://eurid.eu/d/93742/Registration_Policy_EN.pdf https://eurid.eu/d/93742/Registration_Policy_EN.pdf
nkkollaw 9y ago
The UK's move to leave the EU will probably be the most regretted in history. The level of pain and expenses that they are and will endure is really something else. And for what..? Go figure.
- pjc50 9y ago
  Blue passports? /s Really it's the victory of a decades-long press "fake news" campaign. For years papers and politicians alike have misreported EU directives, ECJ decisions, ECHR decisions (not even part of the EU), and UK human rights law decisions. This is the result. The UK media have also given up on providing an accurate picture of the country outside London, and on any kind of industrial or trade news coverage that isn't entirely driven by press releases. And the 2008 crisis made life worse for a lot of people in ways the government has done nothing to address.
  - mapcars 9y ago
    It's quite funny because UK media and press workers also live in UK so they are equally responsible for what is going to happen to them and to the whole country.
    - pjc50 9y ago
      The owners however are generally not domiciled in the UK. It's not as if the workers get a say in the content.
  - nkkollaw 9y ago
    Well, the main points of the ones in favor were debunked right after the referendum, so it's hard to disagree that it was fake news. It's also easy to exploy people's problems to rally them against a fake common enemy, and it worked wonderfully. I wonder who gained from this, amd why they did it. I don't think they believed their own lies..?
- funshed 9y ago
  "for what?" to "take back control" and restore democracy.
trengrj 9y ago
I dislike the idea that domain names can be geographically restricted. Additionally this .eu cancellation seems a wanton and bureaucratic attack on the U.K. given Brexit has only recently been triggered.
- pjc50 9y ago
  It's very Brexit to say that, when rules which have always applied to non-EU countries will apply to the UK once the UK is a non-EU country, this is an "attack". (The web page says "As of the withdrawal date", not today)
- teamhappy 9y ago
  Most domains are restricted in some may - usually geographically. Some have even stricter rules (.cat for example requires you to publish your website in the Catalan language). After Brexit people living in the UK no longer fulfill the requirements to own a .eu domain. Seems pretty straight forward to me.
  - geden 9y ago
    What about the half of the UK population that want to be in the EU? Can’t the EU set a higher, more inclusive standard here?
    - profunctor 9y ago
      But they are not in the eu. Surely the higher percentage of people from Britain who want to leave the EU would like to be treated like a non-EU country.
      - geden 9y ago
        British is currently in the EU. No one really knows yet whether it will leave in any meaningful way. I’d like the EU to let UK citizens who want to remain part of the EU do so. That would be rather fun wouldn’t it? Trolling the idiots who’ve seized control here.
zerostar07 9y ago
This is an ridiculous and blatantly hostile move, esp. considering the fact that most EU countries don't even have that policy for their own ccTLD. EU has nothing to win here and this doesn't benefit the .eu domain.
- icebraining 9y ago
  This is not a move. This is just an application of the rules that have always applied to .eu domains to the new situation. The rules of ccTLDs of member countries are completely irrelevant.
  - zerostar07 9y ago
    rules can change, even temporarily. the UK will probably join in some future agreement with the EU. it could even be part of a brexit deal. the EU already offers this exemption to EEA members
    - icebraining 9y ago
      Sure; if and when the rules change, I'm sure a new update will be issued. But that doesn't change the fact that this is a straightforward application of the existing rules, which were approved long before Brexit.
pjc50 9y ago
Someone should probably archive the "leave.eu" site before this happens, for Brexit recriminations.
dotcoma 9y ago
The EU is always so classy. Or maybe they just wanted to prove the Brits right in wanting to leave.
- oakesm9 9y ago
  This is just a reminder that the rules that were already in place for all other "third countries" (non-EU or EEA countries) will apply to the UK if/when they become that. If the negotiations turn out that we stay part of the EEC, then this won't apply as the UK won't be a "third country".
  - dotcoma 9y ago
    I understand not letting people in the UK register new .eu domain names. But by making it impossible (or just hard, more likely) to renew domain names imho they are needlessy hurting people and businesses who had bet on the EU.
    - icebraining 9y ago
      If they "bet" on the EU, why don't they have any established entity in it? Doesn't seem like betting much to me.
      - lfxyz 9y ago
        Because they have had established entities in it and will continue to do so until March 2019? After all, establishing an entity in the United Kingdom has, until now, been an equal level of 'betting' as establishing an entity anywhere else in the EU.
        icebraining 9y ago
        And if you bet on the top 500 companies in the stock market, and one drops below the 500th place, nobody will redesign the S&P to fit your portfolio either. You have to rebalance your bet.
    - 9y ago
avian 9y ago
Can a mod change the click-bait title of this submission to the actual title of the linked page? "Notice to stakeholders: withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU rules on .eu domain names"
- ealexhudson 9y ago
  Please don't. The page title doesn't make clear the actual impact of this, the "click bait" is much more informative. I sincerely hope no-one in the UK is running a substantial business on an .EU domain; the damage of this could be significant for them.
  - wcoenen 9y ago
    What kind of damage? Couldn't any business in the UK create a subsidiary in the EU and transfer the domain to that?
    - antientropic 9y ago
      I suspect that the cost (in time and money) to set up a subsidiary in the EU may be significant, especially for small companies.
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  - avian 9y ago
    > Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait. Don't editorialize. Above from https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html I've seen this rule commonly applied to HN submissions. To me, this title is clearly editorializing and more misleading than the original. There is no mention of "317k .eu domains" in the text. There is even no explicit mention of cancellation. What is mentioned is eligibility for renewals and new registrations.
    - jwilk 9y ago
partycoder 9y ago
Is English going to remain being an official language of the EU?
- icebraining 9y ago
  Ireland and Malta also have English as their official language, so I assume so.
  - pmontra 9y ago
    Maybe the question was meant to be if English is going to remain as a "procedural language", that is one of those few languages used for the internal business of the Commission. Currently they are English, German, French. More about that at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_European_Union#Official_EU_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_European_Unio... My bet is yes, even if Ireland and Malta were leaving the EU: everybody knows English, only a few know any other language.
- wiredfool 9y ago
  Unknown. There's still Ireland. But Ireland is a much smaller influence than the UK is.
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  - icebraining 9y ago
    There are 24 official EU languages, many of them from countries with less influence than Ireland, so I find it hard to believe English won't be official. That said, it might not longer be a "procedural" language (status currently only held by English, French and German). But even then, I wouldn't bet on it. English is too ingrained at this point.
    - wiredfool 9y ago
      Fair enough, I was confused with the procedural vs official language. Languages are such a political thing. The whole recent (century) history of Gaeilge is a reaction to UK influence.
alicewales 9y ago
At least pro-Brexit campaign group LEAVE.EU will have to find a new domain name. It's not just their domain, it's the name of their organisation as a whole...
- clort 9y ago
  Strictly, the organisation can be disbanded at that point anyway.
  - solarkraft 9y ago
    I'd be interested to see how they try to turn Brexit's effect into a victory for them, though.
mgiannopoulos 9y ago
So lots of business for EU registrars offering proxy/“private registration” services. Good job EC! /s
- teamhappy 9y ago
  Nope. If that would be enough they would already offer it like they do for many other TLDs. You need more than a "contact" (i.e., address) inside the EU to register a .eu domain.
  - mgiannopoulos 9y ago
    It's been happening for years though https://wiki.hexonet.net/wiki/EU#Trustee_Service https://wiki.hexonet.net/wiki/EU#Trustee_Service What do you mean "more than an address"?
    - pmlnr 9y ago
      Usually and EU national ID card number or an EU tax number.
- icebraining 9y ago
  Proxies are not allowed under the rules. You might fly under the radar, but if the Registry sees that your website company info doesn't match the registration info, you're liable to lose the domain.
  - mgiannopoulos 9y ago
    Was there any cases where .EU domain registrations were lost because a proxy was used?
    - icebraining 9y ago
      Yes, lensworks.eu. That was before the sunrise period, though.
tscs37 9y ago
It's the registrar rules being enforced exactly like they always have been. The Rules say "EU only". If the UK is no longer in the EU then the simply conclusion is that the domain ownership will be revoked.
- jwilk 9y ago
  The rules say: EU, or Iceland, or Norway, or Liechtenstein.
  - zerostar07 9y ago
    also, the rules are not set in stone
    - tscs37 9y ago
      Until the rules are changed, UK domain owners will be thrown out in March 2019.
      - icebraining 9y ago
        No; UK domain owners will be prevented from renewing their domains, but it doesn't say they'll automatically lose them. From what I can tell, if you renew just before March 2019, you can keep your domain until 2029. Although, the Registry will be able to revoke them, so it's not guaranteed.
  - codepope2014 9y ago
    The rules say European Economic Area (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area). Which the UK is, ridiculously, also leaving, but does include Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein as EFTA members.
    - jwilk 9y ago
      FWIW, the Domain Name Registration Policy (https://eurid.eu/media/filer_public/76/48/7648e621-0c5d-4c09-8bde-e5622cb6b23e/registration_policy_en.pdf https://eurid.eu/media/filer_public/76/48/7648e621-0c5d-4c09... , linked from https://eurid.eu/en/register-a-eu-domain/rules-for-eu-domains/ https://eurid.eu/en/register-a-eu-domain/rules-for-eu-domain...) doesn't mention EEA; it spells out the 3 extra countries explicitly.
bograt 9y ago
Those who want the UK to remain in the EU will see this as just one damaging consequence of the UK's decision to leave. Conversely, Brexiteers will see this as an example of maladministration by an EU bureaucracy, and another demonstration of why the UK needs to exit. Sadly, there will be no consensus. Putting aside the politics, this seems like a very poor decision. Historically, I believe most registering authorities have made great efforts to grandfather-in prior domains, for practical reasons apparent to most visitors of this site. Additionally, shoddy treatment of 10% of current registrees will do nothing to increase the perceived value of an .eu domain. I also note that it appears the EU commission didn't even discuss the policy with the company that manages the .eu domain: https://eurid.eu/en/news/ec-releases-communication-concerning-brexit-and-the-eu-tld/ https://eurid.eu/en/news/ec-releases-communication-concernin...
- icebraining 9y ago
  This doesn't seem to immediately affect existing registrations, so they can renew for up to ten years before the withdrawal date, and start redirecting people to some other domain.
  - bograt 9y ago
    I don't think that is true. From section 2 of the commission's notice: ... as of the withdrawal date ... the Registry for .eu will be entitled to revoke such domain name on its own initiative and without submitting the dispute to any extrajudicial settlement of conflicts ...
    - icebraining 9y ago
      Entitled, but not required. I guess if some EU company shares the same name and disputes the domain, the UK holder might lose it.
- solarkraft 9y ago
  > Additionally, shoddy treatment of 10% of current registrees will do nothing to increase the perceived value of an .eu domain. It does for me. Creates the image of an exclusive TLD with only genuine, trustable EU registrees.
candiodari 9y ago
Instance #945792 of the EU commission coming out with it's usual message: "Bad voters ! BAD BAD BAD voters !" "FU" All the people defending this decision: do you seriously think a majority of Europeans would defend this decision ? Because that's the yardstick a government in a democratic nation should be measured by.
- Oletros 9y ago
  Bad voters? The requirements has not been changed
  - candiodari 9y ago
    Seen any enforcement actions from the commission itself against other classes of the many violators of said requirements ? This is the very first enforcement action from the commission (they normally come from Eurid)
    - Oletros 9y ago
      I have not seen any enforcement, the link only says what are the rules
pmlnr 9y ago
Apart from my fury, which is caused by having a .eu as my main domain and living in the UK - reverse DNS, mail, etc, all quite hard to change due to trust databases -, this leaves me with yet another enforcement that we are in desperate need of domains - or something similar - that is yours, yours for life, and can not be taken away. .onion would be ideal, but Tor itself has been criminalised so well, that vanilla people are and would be frightened to visit them - and they might even be right, given the amount of supervision ISPs have nowadays. .bit is not a solution, it's just another registrar in it's essence, and a rather complicated one, that needs namecoin. Is anyone aware of a work-in-progress solution or had nobody thought about this during the re-decentralize haste?

67 points by stryk 9y ago

I can't find any reference to a condition that forbids owners from renewing a .eu domain after leaving the EU in more usual circumstances, like emigration. If true it would be a very unreasonable condition which would seriously undermine the value of the domain for would be registrants, so I'm surprised it's not something that's been highlighted before. If it's not the case then clearly brexit exiteers ought to be treated at least as well. In reality this announcement is likely to be politically motivated posturing on an issue which is to be agreed as part of the brexit negotiations, not something that is going to be decreed unilaterally.

pjc50 9y ago
You're not looking hard enough, or maybe at all. https://eurid.eu/media/filer_public/76/48/7648e621-0c5d-4c09-8bde-e5622cb6b23e/registration_policy_en.pdf https://eurid.eu/media/filer_public/76/48/7648e621-0c5d-4c09... Must be "a natural person resident within the European Union, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein" If the Registrant files a request for a Domain Name registration and is unable to meet, or no longer meets, the above conditions, the Registry is entitled to reject the request or to revoke the Domain Name concerned at any time in accordance with Sections 6 .4 and 8.4 of the Terms and Conditions. (Why Liechtenstein? Not part of the EU: "Liechtenstein is a member of the United Nations, European Free Trade Association, and the Council of Europe, and while not being a member of the European Union, the country participates in both the Schengen Area and European Economic Area. It also has a customs union and a monetary union with Switzerland") > "is to be agreed as part of the brexit negotiations" They need to get a bloody move on with this. There's a year left and a huge list of things in the same state of needing to be agreed.

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yorwba 9y ago

That title is highly editorialized. The actual effect is just that .eu domains will have to be renewed through a registrar that's established in the EU. Most major registrars probably already fulfill that requirement, and those that don't shouldn't have any problem with founding an EU subsidiary. EDIT: Missed the part where "Accredited .eu Registrars will not be entitled to process any request for the registration of or for renewing registrations of .eu domain names by those [UK] undertakings, organisations and persons." Still, I bet the vast majority of domains will be transferred to some shell entity in the EU, even if it's just domain owners selling off domains they can't renew anymore.

nkkollaw 9y ago
What about the "and natural persons who reside in the United Kingdom" part..?
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christop 9y ago
No, the text says that all .eu registrars will no longer be able to accept .eu registrations or renewals from entities in the UK.
icebraining 9y ago
.eu domains are restricted to EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein residents and organizations[1]. By leaving, UK residents and organizations not established in one of those countries lose the right to register or renew a domain. Plus, even existing registration can be summarily revoked by the Registry. [1] https://eurid.eu/d/93742/Registration_Policy_EN.pdf https://eurid.eu/d/93742/Registration_Policy_EN.pdf

nkkollaw 9y ago

The UK's move to leave the EU will probably be the most regretted in history. The level of pain and expenses that they are and will endure is really something else. And for what..? Go figure.

pjc50 9y ago
Blue passports? /s Really it's the victory of a decades-long press "fake news" campaign. For years papers and politicians alike have misreported EU directives, ECJ decisions, ECHR decisions (not even part of the EU), and UK human rights law decisions. This is the result. The UK media have also given up on providing an accurate picture of the country outside London, and on any kind of industrial or trade news coverage that isn't entirely driven by press releases. And the 2008 crisis made life worse for a lot of people in ways the government has done nothing to address.
- mapcars 9y ago
  It's quite funny because UK media and press workers also live in UK so they are equally responsible for what is going to happen to them and to the whole country.
  - pjc50 9y ago
    The owners however are generally not domiciled in the UK. It's not as if the workers get a say in the content.
- nkkollaw 9y ago
  Well, the main points of the ones in favor were debunked right after the referendum, so it's hard to disagree that it was fake news. It's also easy to exploy people's problems to rally them against a fake common enemy, and it worked wonderfully. I wonder who gained from this, amd why they did it. I don't think they believed their own lies..?
funshed 9y ago
"for what?" to "take back control" and restore democracy.

trengrj 9y ago

I dislike the idea that domain names can be geographically restricted. Additionally this .eu cancellation seems a wanton and bureaucratic attack on the U.K. given Brexit has only recently been triggered.

pjc50 9y ago
It's very Brexit to say that, when rules which have always applied to non-EU countries will apply to the UK once the UK is a non-EU country, this is an "attack". (The web page says "As of the withdrawal date", not today)
teamhappy 9y ago
Most domains are restricted in some may - usually geographically. Some have even stricter rules (.cat for example requires you to publish your website in the Catalan language). After Brexit people living in the UK no longer fulfill the requirements to own a .eu domain. Seems pretty straight forward to me.
- geden 9y ago
  What about the half of the UK population that want to be in the EU? Can’t the EU set a higher, more inclusive standard here?
  - profunctor 9y ago
    But they are not in the eu. Surely the higher percentage of people from Britain who want to leave the EU would like to be treated like a non-EU country.
    - geden 9y ago
      British is currently in the EU. No one really knows yet whether it will leave in any meaningful way. I’d like the EU to let UK citizens who want to remain part of the EU do so. That would be rather fun wouldn’t it? Trolling the idiots who’ve seized control here.

zerostar07 9y ago

This is an ridiculous and blatantly hostile move, esp. considering the fact that most EU countries don't even have that policy for their own ccTLD. EU has nothing to win here and this doesn't benefit the .eu domain.

icebraining 9y ago
This is not a move. This is just an application of the rules that have always applied to .eu domains to the new situation. The rules of ccTLDs of member countries are completely irrelevant.
- zerostar07 9y ago
  rules can change, even temporarily. the UK will probably join in some future agreement with the EU. it could even be part of a brexit deal. the EU already offers this exemption to EEA members
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Sure; if and when the rules change, I'm sure a new update will be issued. But that doesn't change the fact that this is a straightforward application of the existing rules, which were approved long before Brexit.

pjc50 9y ago

Someone should probably archive the "leave.eu" site before this happens, for Brexit recriminations.

dotcoma 9y ago

The EU is always so classy. Or maybe they just wanted to prove the Brits right in wanting to leave.

oakesm9 9y ago
This is just a reminder that the rules that were already in place for all other "third countries" (non-EU or EEA countries) will apply to the UK if/when they become that. If the negotiations turn out that we stay part of the EEC, then this won't apply as the UK won't be a "third country".
- dotcoma 9y ago
  I understand not letting people in the UK register new .eu domain names. But by making it impossible (or just hard, more likely) to renew domain names imho they are needlessy hurting people and businesses who had bet on the EU.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    If they "bet" on the EU, why don't they have any established entity in it? Doesn't seem like betting much to me.
    - lfxyz 9y ago
      Because they have had established entities in it and will continue to do so until March 2019? After all, establishing an entity in the United Kingdom has, until now, been an equal level of 'betting' as establishing an entity anywhere else in the EU.
      - icebraining 9y ago
        And if you bet on the top 500 companies in the stock market, and one drops below the 500th place, nobody will redesign the S&P to fit your portfolio either. You have to rebalance your bet.
  - 9y ago

avian 9y ago

Can a mod change the click-bait title of this submission to the actual title of the linked page? "Notice to stakeholders: withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU rules on .eu domain names"

ealexhudson 9y ago
Please don't. The page title doesn't make clear the actual impact of this, the "click bait" is much more informative. I sincerely hope no-one in the UK is running a substantial business on an .EU domain; the damage of this could be significant for them.
- wcoenen 9y ago
  What kind of damage? Couldn't any business in the UK create a subsidiary in the EU and transfer the domain to that?
  - antientropic 9y ago
    I suspect that the cost (in time and money) to set up a subsidiary in the EU may be significant, especially for small companies.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- avian 9y ago
  > Please use the original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait. Don't editorialize. Above from https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html I've seen this rule commonly applied to HN submissions. To me, this title is clearly editorializing and more misleading than the original. There is no mention of "317k .eu domains" in the text. There is even no explicit mention of cancellation. What is mentioned is eligibility for renewals and new registrations.
  - jwilk 9y ago

partycoder 9y ago

Is English going to remain being an official language of the EU?

icebraining 9y ago
Ireland and Malta also have English as their official language, so I assume so.
- pmontra 9y ago
  Maybe the question was meant to be if English is going to remain as a "procedural language", that is one of those few languages used for the internal business of the Commission. Currently they are English, German, French. More about that at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_European_Union#Official_EU_languages https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_the_European_Unio... My bet is yes, even if Ireland and Malta were leaving the EU: everybody knows English, only a few know any other language.
wiredfool 9y ago
Unknown. There's still Ireland. But Ireland is a much smaller influence than the UK is.
- deleted 9y ago
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- icebraining 9y ago
  There are 24 official EU languages, many of them from countries with less influence than Ireland, so I find it hard to believe English won't be official. That said, it might not longer be a "procedural" language (status currently only held by English, French and German). But even then, I wouldn't bet on it. English is too ingrained at this point.
  - wiredfool 9y ago
    Fair enough, I was confused with the procedural vs official language. Languages are such a political thing. The whole recent (century) history of Gaeilge is a reaction to UK influence.

alicewales 9y ago

At least pro-Brexit campaign group LEAVE.EU will have to find a new domain name. It's not just their domain, it's the name of their organisation as a whole...

clort 9y ago
Strictly, the organisation can be disbanded at that point anyway.
- solarkraft 9y ago
  I'd be interested to see how they try to turn Brexit's effect into a victory for them, though.

mgiannopoulos 9y ago

So lots of business for EU registrars offering proxy/“private registration” services. Good job EC! /s

teamhappy 9y ago
Nope. If that would be enough they would already offer it like they do for many other TLDs. You need more than a "contact" (i.e., address) inside the EU to register a .eu domain.
- mgiannopoulos 9y ago
  It's been happening for years though https://wiki.hexonet.net/wiki/EU#Trustee_Service https://wiki.hexonet.net/wiki/EU#Trustee_Service What do you mean "more than an address"?
  - pmlnr 9y ago
    Usually and EU national ID card number or an EU tax number.
icebraining 9y ago
Proxies are not allowed under the rules. You might fly under the radar, but if the Registry sees that your website company info doesn't match the registration info, you're liable to lose the domain.
- mgiannopoulos 9y ago
  Was there any cases where .EU domain registrations were lost because a proxy was used?
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Yes, lensworks.eu. That was before the sunrise period, though.

tscs37 9y ago

It's the registrar rules being enforced exactly like they always have been. The Rules say "EU only". If the UK is no longer in the EU then the simply conclusion is that the domain ownership will be revoked.

jwilk 9y ago
The rules say: EU, or Iceland, or Norway, or Liechtenstein.
- zerostar07 9y ago
  also, the rules are not set in stone
  - tscs37 9y ago
    Until the rules are changed, UK domain owners will be thrown out in March 2019.
    - icebraining 9y ago
      No; UK domain owners will be prevented from renewing their domains, but it doesn't say they'll automatically lose them. From what I can tell, if you renew just before March 2019, you can keep your domain until 2029. Although, the Registry will be able to revoke them, so it's not guaranteed.
- codepope2014 9y ago
  The rules say European Economic Area (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Economic_Area). Which the UK is, ridiculously, also leaving, but does include Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein as EFTA members.
  - jwilk 9y ago
    FWIW, the Domain Name Registration Policy (https://eurid.eu/media/filer_public/76/48/7648e621-0c5d-4c09-8bde-e5622cb6b23e/registration_policy_en.pdf https://eurid.eu/media/filer_public/76/48/7648e621-0c5d-4c09... , linked from https://eurid.eu/en/register-a-eu-domain/rules-for-eu-domains/ https://eurid.eu/en/register-a-eu-domain/rules-for-eu-domain...) doesn't mention EEA; it spells out the 3 extra countries explicitly.

bograt 9y ago

Those who want the UK to remain in the EU will see this as just one damaging consequence of the UK's decision to leave. Conversely, Brexiteers will see this as an example of maladministration by an EU bureaucracy, and another demonstration of why the UK needs to exit. Sadly, there will be no consensus. Putting aside the politics, this seems like a very poor decision. Historically, I believe most registering authorities have made great efforts to grandfather-in prior domains, for practical reasons apparent to most visitors of this site. Additionally, shoddy treatment of 10% of current registrees will do nothing to increase the perceived value of an .eu domain. I also note that it appears the EU commission didn't even discuss the policy with the company that manages the .eu domain: https://eurid.eu/en/news/ec-releases-communication-concerning-brexit-and-the-eu-tld/ https://eurid.eu/en/news/ec-releases-communication-concernin...

icebraining 9y ago
This doesn't seem to immediately affect existing registrations, so they can renew for up to ten years before the withdrawal date, and start redirecting people to some other domain.
- bograt 9y ago
  I don't think that is true. From section 2 of the commission's notice: ... as of the withdrawal date ... the Registry for .eu will be entitled to revoke such domain name on its own initiative and without submitting the dispute to any extrajudicial settlement of conflicts ...
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Entitled, but not required. I guess if some EU company shares the same name and disputes the domain, the UK holder might lose it.
solarkraft 9y ago
> Additionally, shoddy treatment of 10% of current registrees will do nothing to increase the perceived value of an .eu domain. It does for me. Creates the image of an exclusive TLD with only genuine, trustable EU registrees.

candiodari 9y ago

Instance #945792 of the EU commission coming out with it's usual message: "Bad voters ! BAD BAD BAD voters !" "FU" All the people defending this decision: do you seriously think a majority of Europeans would defend this decision ? Because that's the yardstick a government in a democratic nation should be measured by.

Oletros 9y ago
Bad voters? The requirements has not been changed
- candiodari 9y ago
  Seen any enforcement actions from the commission itself against other classes of the many violators of said requirements ? This is the very first enforcement action from the commission (they normally come from Eurid)
  - Oletros 9y ago
    I have not seen any enforcement, the link only says what are the rules

pmlnr 9y ago

Apart from my fury, which is caused by having a .eu as my main domain and living in the UK - reverse DNS, mail, etc, all quite hard to change due to trust databases -, this leaves me with yet another enforcement that we are in desperate need of domains - or something similar - that is yours, yours for life, and can not be taken away. .onion would be ideal, but Tor itself has been criminalised so well, that vanilla people are and would be frightened to visit them - and they might even be right, given the amount of supervision ISPs have nowadays. .bit is not a solution, it's just another registrar in it's essence, and a rather complicated one, that needs namecoin. Is anyone aware of a work-in-progress solution or had nobody thought about this during the re-decentralize haste?