On March 29, 2019, the registry in charge of <.eu> domain names (EURid) announced the extension of its contract with the European Commission until October 12, 2022 under the Regulation (EU) 2019/517 of March 19, 2019 (“the 2019 Regulation”).
With one exception, the provisions of the 2019 Regulation will apply starting October 13, 2022, and repeal the Regulations (CE) 733/2002 and (CE) 874/2004. The exception is that the provision concerning eligibility criteria under Article 20 of the 2019 Regulation will apply from October 19, 2019. This provision allows any person holding European Union citizenship, regardless of country of residence, to register a <.eu> domain name.
The purpose of this new regulation is to adapt the rules governing the <.eu> ccTLD to the expansion of the domain names sector. In this regard, the EURid’s annual report shows a steady increase in registrations in six countries including Portugal, Ireland and Norway. Nevertheless, the uncertainty caused by Brexit led to a loss of 130,000 domain names for the 2018 period. This decrease is mainly due to the anticipation of registrants who face the impossibility of registering or renewing their <.eu> domain names in the near future.