eco Comment on EU Commission Notice on .eu Domain Names in Post-BREXIT Scenario

eco – Association of the Internet Industry today submitted comments on the European Commission’s notice to stakeholders for handling the existing registrations of .eu domain names of UK residents and businesses, totaling more than 300,000, in the event of BREXIT. The comment on the Commission’s notice has received broad backing from the domain industry, with 26 eco member companies and organizations endorsing the document.

“The members of eco and the eco Names & Numbers Forum welcome the relaxing of the eligibility criteria” for .eu domain registrations, the comment states. “However, we have numerous concerns relating to the “Notice to Stakeholders on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom and EU Rules on .EU Domain Names” (Brussels, 28.03.2018); the high risk of abuse of revoked domain names being one of the most urgent issues to be addressed by the parties involved. This would most likely undermine the mission of the .eu top-level domain and have a negative impact on consumer trust in the .eu name space and the domain industry in general”, says Lars Steffen, Director eco International.

As a result, the eco Names & Numbers Forum working group is asking the European Commission to consider various solutions that could support existing UK registrants and the overall .eu brand.

The eco Association has been following the BREXIT discussion very closely from the very beginning. In collaboration with its members, the eco Names & Numbers Forum working group published a discussion paper on the potential implications of BREXIT on the domain industry (“BREXIT – Challenges for the Domain Industry?”, April 2016). In July 2016, the eco Names & Numbers Forum set up a BREXIT sub-working group to address the policy and administrative questions that a BREXIT scenario poses. With this sub-working group eco wants to make sure that no one in the domain industry is caught by surprise when BREXIT comes into full effect.

Read the full comment: eco Comment on the Impact of BREXIT on the .eu Domain Space

The comment has been endorsed by the following eco member companies and associations: