Organisations, companies and private individuals can only register or renew .eu domains if they have a branch or residence in the European Union. In the course of the Brexit, it would be discussed whether a transitional regulation should enter into force after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. However, according to the updated Information of the Registrar, there is no such special rule now. Since Great Britain will thus become a third state without a transition period to a third state which is no longer allowed to register .eu domains, this means that .eu domains with British Whois data will be deactivated from 30 May. New registration of .eu domains with British Whois data will also no longer be possible from 30 March.
Domains still to be saved
Domain holders with British Whois data will receive an e-mail from the registrar on 23 March 2019 informing them that their registered domains will be in breach of the EUR-ID guidelines from 30 March onwards. The only way to keep the domain is to change the Whois data to an address within the EU or transfer the domain to an organisation, company or individual within the EU. In practice, this means that almost all large organisations and companies can save their domains, but private individuals will rarely have an address in the EU and therefore lose most domains.
Deactivation on 30 May
Domains for which the Whois address has not been adjusted by 30 May will be withdrawn from the EUR-ID and thus no longer usable by the original owner. Reactivation is possible for a maximum of one year, after which the domains can be re-registered by third parties via the free market. The automatic renewal of domains with British Whois data will also no longer be active from March. In addition to Great Britain, the regulation also applies to the British overseas territory of Gibraltar.
Should there still be a surprising transitional arrangement when Great Britain leaves the EU, the new EUR-ID registration would not be accepted until 1 January 2021. Existing domain owners also had until 23 December 2020 to adapt the addresses of their domains under a transitional arrangement.
