EU/EEA citizens will be able to register .eu domains even if they live outside of the EU

The European Parliament, the Council, and the European Commission reached an agreement on 5 December on the new rules guiding the .eu top-level domain (TLD).

Negotiators agreed on the reform of the .eu TLD to adapt its current rules to the fast-changing domain name market in order to strengthen its link with the growing Digital Single Market, which focalizes on European values like multilingualism, privacy protection, and security.

Negotiators agreed to simplify the existing legal framework on the .eu top-level-domain and enable European/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) citizens to register for a .eu domain also outside of the EU, regardless of their country of residence.

Any person, who is not a Union citizen and who is resident of a member state, as well as organisations and undertakings established within the EU may register a .eu TLD.

A .eu domain name may be revoked if a .eu domain holder no longer fulfil the eligibility criteria e.g. if the holder no longer is an EU citizen and lives outside of the EU.

The Regulation shall apply as of 13 October 2022. Yes, the EU is not very fast paced.

After the agreement was reached, the rapporteur Fredrick Federley (ALDE, Sweden) said: “I am pleased that the agreement strengthens rules on transparency, fairness and accountability and in particular, I am delighted that we have successfully strengthened provisions securing the principle of Rule of Law.”

EU citizens will be able to register a .eu domain name no matter where they reside

The new rules will expand the eligibility criteria surrounding the .eu TLD, as EU citizens will be able to register a .eu domain name regardless of where they reside. Currently, any person resident or business established in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway can register a .eu domain name.

.eu for one, .eu for all

The new rules also aim to improve the governance of the .eu TLD by establishing a Multistakeholder Advisory Group to assist and advise the European Commission. The goal behind this modernized and strengthened governance structure is to give the Internet community the opportunity to contribute to the management and services of the .eu TLD.

Next steps

The Regulation shall apply as of 13 October 2022, except for the provisions on who may register a .eu TLD. These provisions shall apply as of six months after the entry into force of this Regulation.

As the current .eu Registry, we welcome the improvements in the Regulation that meet the objectives of the REFIT of the current regulatory framework.