.eu gains four new members: CECUA, ECTA, EMOTA and IAB Europe

To better serve the .eu market and improve its market knowledge, EURid, the .eu registry, has gained four additional members.

The new members – all associations with a strong Internet-oriented vision which are active on a European level – include:

• The Confederation of Computer User Associations (CECUA)
• The European Communities Trade Mark Association (ECTA)
• The European Multi-Channel Online Trade Association (EMOTA)
• The Interactive Advertising Bureau Europe (IAB Europe)

“We are pleased to welcome the representatives of these organisations as we believe we can benefit significantly from the extensive experience they have in their fields,” said EURid’s General Manager Marc Van Wesemael. “We look forward to further shifting our focus towards an all-inclusive view of the Internet, while at the same time staying rooted in the strong foundation of technical knowledge that we have built up through our cooperation with the founding members over the years.”

EURid was founded in 2003 by the three organisations running national domain registries for .be (Belgium), .it (Italy) and .se (Sweden). Later, the registries for .cz (the Czech Republic) and .si (Slovenia) became members, as did the European Chapters of the Internet Society (ISOC-ECC) and Business Europe. The Swedish registry ended its membership in April 2013.

“There is great potential at EURid to bring the technical and user sides of the internet closer together. In this, we welcome the fact that EURid is taking the necessary steps to expand its forum and bring in stakeholders from many different organisations and geographical locations.”
Jon Thorallsson, CECUA President

“In the internet marketplace, .eu managed by EURid, is perceived as a recognisable brand, with strong security and user loyalty. As such, EURid presents a qualified and unified forum to work towards harmonisation of online IP and trademark regulation.”
Massimo Cimoli, ECTA Vice Chair

“Europe is taking the lead in online commerce, but trust is still an issue for 57% of users. In our cooperation with EURid we see a lot of potential to work towards a safer marketplace online.”
Susanne Czech, EMOTA Secretary General

“This is a wake-up call to recognise the active role .eu can play in organising online Europe to welcome and at the same time foster global entrepreneurship. The next Zuckerberg will be European. For that to happen we need to be in contact with a broad range of stakeholders and, from this, take the lead. The history of the internet is not over yet.”
Alain Heureux, IAB Europe President