Compiled from an official source version. Later amendments or repeals may not be reflected; the official text prevails. · Read the official text ↗
Eligibility criteria
Registration of one or more domain names under the .eu TLD can be requested by any of the following: (a) a Union citizen, independently of their place of residence; (b) a natural person who is not a Union citizen and who is a resident of a Member State; (c) an undertaking that is established in the Union; and (d) an organisation that is established in the Union without prejudice to the application of national law.
Registration and revocation of domain names
1. A domain name shall be allocated to the eligible party whose request was first received by the Registry in the technically correct manner as laid down by the procedures for registration requests on the basis of point (b) of Article 11. 2. A registered domain name shall be unavailable for further registration until the registration has expired without renewal, or until the domain name has been revoked. 3. The Registry may revoke a domain name at its own initiative, without submitting the dispute to an ADR or judicial procedure, on the following grounds: (a) there are outstanding unpaid debts owed to the Registry; (b) the non-fulfilment by the domain name holder of the eligibility criteria pursuant to Article 3; (c) the breach by the domain name holder of the requirements for registration requests laid down on the basis of points (b) and (c) of Article 11. 4. A domain name may also be revoked, and where necessary subsequently transferred to another party, following an appropriate ADR or judicial procedure, in accordance with the principles and procedures on the functioning of the .eu TLD laid down pursuant to Article 11, where that name is identical or confusingly similar to a name in respect of which a right is established by Union or national law, and where it: (a) has been registered by its holder without rights or legitimate interest in the name; or (b) has been registered or is being used in bad faith. 5. Where a domain name is found by a decision of a court of a Member State to be defamatory, racist or contrary to public policy or public security under Union law, or national law that complies with Union law, that domain name shall be blocked by the Registry upon notification of the court's decision and shall be revoked upon notification of the final court decision. The Registry shall block from future registration those domain names which have been subject to such a court order for as long as that order remains valid. 6. Domain names registered under the .eu TLD shall be transferable only to parties eligible for registration of .eu TLD names.
Languages, applicable law and jurisdiction
1. The registration of domain names shall be carried out in all the characters of the official languages of the Union institutions, in accordance with the available international standards as allowed by the relevant Internationalised Domain Name protocols. 2. Without prejudice to Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 8 ) or to the rights and obligations recognised by the Member States or by the Union that arise from international instruments, neither contracts between the Registry and Registrars nor contracts between Registrars and registrants of domain names shall designate a law other than that of one of the Member States as the applicable law, nor shall they designate a court, arbitration court or other body located outside the Union as the relevant dispute resolution body.
Reservation of domain names
1. The Registry may reserve or register a number of domain names considered necessary for its operational functions under the contract referred to in Article 8(4). 2. The Commission may instruct the Registry to reserve or to register a domain name directly under the .eu TLD for use by the Union institutions and bodies. 3. Member States may, without prejudice to domain names that have already been reserved or registered, notify to the Commission a list of domain names which: (a) are not to be registered pursuant to their national law; or (b) may be registered or reserved only at the second-level by the Member States. With respect to point (b) of the first subparagraph, such domain names shall be limited to broadly recognised geographical or geopolitical terms which affect the Member States' political or territorial organisation. 4. The Commission shall adopt the lists notified by the Member States by means of implementing acts. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 17(2).
Registrars
1. The Registry shall accredit Registrars in accordance with reasonable, transparent and non-discriminatory accreditation procedures which have been approved in advance by the Commission. The Registry shall make the accreditation procedures publicly available in readily accessible form. 2. The Registry shall apply equivalent conditions in equivalent circumstances in relation to accredited .eu Registrars that provide equivalent services. The Registry shall provide those Registrars with services and information under the same conditions, and of the same quality, as provided for its own equivalent services.
Articles on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.