brexit .eu domains and Brexit

[brian!]

I thought the article below might be of interest to those that have .eu domains and how the two likeliest outcomes of Brexit will affect their ownership of those registered in the UK (* GI = Gibraltar)...

https://eurid.eu/en/register-a-eu-domain/brexit-notice/

Quote

On 28 March 2018 the European Commission issued a notice to stakeholders concerning the .eu domain names registered by UK residents. The notice reads:

“Subject to any transitional arrangement that may be contained in a possible withdrawal agreement, the EU regulatory framework for the .eu Top Level Domain will no longer apply to the United Kingdom as from the withdrawal date. […]

“As of the withdrawal date, undertakings and organisations that are established in the United Kingdom but not in the EU and natural persons who reside in the United Kingdom will no longer be eligible to register .eu domain names or, if they are .eu registrants, to renew .eu domain names registered before the withdrawal date. Accredited .eu Registrars will not be entitled to process any request for the registration of or for renewing registrations of .eu domain names by those undertakings, organisations and persons.”

As reported above, the full communication highlights the fact that this information is subject to any transitional arrangement that may be contained in a possible withdrawal agreement, which is an ongoing negotiation between the United Kingdom and European Commission.

On 10 April 2018 EURid, the .eu registry manager, received a communication from the European Commission stating the following:

“The revocation of existing holders’ rights and the prohibition for registrars from processing any more requests for registrations or renewals for .eu domain names whose holders are no longer eligible must be prepared so that the necessary measures are effective as from 1 January 2021 or, in case that there were no withdrawal agreement in force before 30 March 2019, as from 30 March 2019.”

Following several working meetings with the European Commission, EURid will roll out the following action plan that has two scenarios that depend on the withdrawal date of the United Kingdom from the European Union.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that the following plan reflects the decisions made on the basis of the political scenarios that are known at the time of its writing. Should there be any change and/or unexpected development concerning the withdrawal of UK from the European Union, EURid will liaise with the European Commission to provide all its stakeholders with an update in a timely manner.

SCENARIO 1 - .eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code 

Should the UK leave the EU with no deal on 30 March 2019, the following measures will be enforced:

New registrations

From 30 March 2019, 00:00:00 CET, EURid will NOT allow the registration of any new domain name where the registrant country code is either GB/GI.

.eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS, at the time of UK withdrawal

On 23 March 2019, as of 00:00:00 CET, EURid will notify by email both GB/GI registrants and their registrars about the forthcoming non-compliance of the data associated to their domain name within the .eu regulatory framework.

On 30 March 2019, as of 00:00:00 CET, EURid will again notify by email both GB/GI registrants and their registrars that their domain name(s) is not in compliance with the .eu regulatory framework. Registrants will be given the possibility to demonstrate their compliance with the .eu regulatory framework by updating their contact data (e.g. indicating a legally established entity in one of the eligible EU27 or EEA Member States, or update of residence) before 30 May 2019, 00:00:00 CEST. During this two-month period, the domain names in question will remain active.

During this two-month period, the following actions are possible:

• Contact data changes including updates to existing contact details pertaining to
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Street
  • Postal code
  • Country code
  • Updating a contact or linking a new contact
• Name server and DNSSEC changes;
• Transfer the domain name to a non GB/GI registrant. 

During this two-month period, the following actions are NOT possible for domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code:

• Transfer the domain name to a GB/GI registrant;
• Term extension, unless accompanied by a transfer request to an eligible registrant;
• Automatic renewal. Any domain name that has GB/GI as registrant country code and expires in the period between 30 March 2019, 00:00:00 CET, and 30 May 2019, 00:00:00 CEST, will not be automatically renewed. It will be moved to the WITDHRAWN status at the moment it expires.

As of 30 May 2019, 00:00:00 CEST, all registrants who did not demonstrate their eligibility will be deemed ineligible and their domain names will be WITHDRAWN. A WITHDRAWN domain name no longer functions, as the domain name is removed from the zone file and can no longer support any active services (such as websites or email) but the record will remain in the .eu registry database, and may be reactivated if the eligibility criteria are satisfied.

Twelve months after the UK withdrawal, i.e. on 30 March 2020 00:00:00 CET, all the affected domain names will be REVOKED, and will become AVAILABLE for general registration. For security and stability reasons, the release of all affected domain names will occur in batches from the time they become available.

.eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS and are in the ON-HOLD status at the time of UK withdrawal

With respect to domain names that are ON HOLD, meaning for which there is a legal court case pending, these domain names will remain registered until there is an outcome of the court case. However, they will be SUSPENDED and will cease to function as of 30 May 2019, 00:00:00 CEST. If a court ruling establishes a transfer to an eligible party, we will implement that decision in the usual way. If, however, the outcome of the court case is that the domain name should stay with the GB/GI registrant, we will WITHDRAW that domain name as soon as practicable after having liaised with the court and having received the final decision from the court.

.eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS and are in the SUSPENDED status at the time of UK withdrawal

Should a .eu domain name with GB/GI as the country code of the registrant be already in the SUSPENDED status, we will evaluate the reasons behind it on a case-by-case basis and if appropriate, move forward with its withdrawal.

.eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS and are in the QUARANTINE status at the time of UK withdrawal

No transfer to GB/GI registrants from quarantine will be possible during the two-month period. Transfer to a non-GB/GI registrant will be possible, however.

PLEASE NOTE: There may be situations of EU citizens, who at present are residing in the UK and have registered a .eu domain name. These citizens would become ineligible as a result of the UK withdrawal and would, therefore lose their eligibility for a .eu domain name, but might become eligible again when the new .eu regulatory framework comes into force later this year.  At present, such individuals will experience a disruption of service from 30 May 2019, as a result of the withdrawal of the name.
 

SCENARIO 2 - .eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code

Should the UK leave the EU following a planned transitional period on 31 December 2020 or at a later date if the transition period is extended pursuant to Art.132 of the Withdrawal Agreement, and the plan does not contain specific provisions relating to .eu domain names, the following measures will be enforced:

New registrations

From 1 January 2021, 00:00:00 CET, EURid will NOT allow the registration of any new domain name where the registrant country code is either GB/GI.

.eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS at the time of UK withdrawal

On 23 December 2020, as of 00:00:00 CET, EURid will notify by email both GB/GI registrants and their registrars about the forthcoming non-compliance of the data associated to their domain name within the .eu regulatory framework.

On 1 January 2021, as of 00:00:00 CET, EURid will again notify by email both GB/GI registrants and their registrars that their domain name(s) is not in compliance with the .eu regulatory framework. Registrants will be given the possibility to demonstrate their compliance with the .eu regulatory framework by updating their contact data (e.g. indicating a legally established entity in one of the eligible EU27 or EEA Member States, or update of residence) before 2 March 2021, 00:00:00 CET. During this two-month period, the domain names in question will remain active.

During this two-month period, the following actions are possible:

• Contact data changes including updates to existing contact details pertaining to
  • Phone
  • Email
  • Street
  • Postal code
  • Country code
  • Updating a contact or linking a new contact
• Name server and DNSSEC changes;
• Transfer the domain name to a non GB/GI registrant. 

During this two-month period, the following actions are NOT possible for domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code:

• Transfer the domain name to a GB/GI registrant;
• Term extension, unless accompanied by a transfer request to an eligible registrant;
• Automatic renewal. Any domain name that has GB/GI as registrant country code and expires in the period between 1 January 2021, 00:00:00 CET, and 2 March 2021, 00:00:00 CET, will not be automatically renewed. It will be moved to the WITDHRAWN status at the moment it would expire.

As of 2 March 2021, 00:00:00 CET, all registrants who did not demonstrate their eligibility will be deemed ineligible and their domain names will be WITHDRAWN. A WITHDRAWN domain name no longer functions, as the domain name is removed from the zone file and can no longer support any active services (such as websites or email).

Twelve months after the UK withdrawal, i.e. on 1 January 2022 00:00:00 CET, all the affected domain names will be REVOKED, and will become AVAILABLE for general registration. Their release will occur in batches from the time they become available.

.eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS and are in the ON-HOLD status at the time of UK withdrawal

With respect to domain names that are ON HOLD, meaning for which there is a legal court case pending, these domain names will remain registered until there is an outcome of the court case. However, they will be SUSPENDED and will cease to function as of 2 March 2021, 00:00:00 CET. If a court ruling establishes a transfer to an eligible party, we will implement that decision in the usual way. If, however, the outcome of the court case is that the domain name should stay with the GB/GI registrant, we will WITHDRAW that domain name as soon as practicable after having liaised with the court and having received the final decision from the court.

.eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS and are in the SUSPENDED status at the time of UK withdrawal

Should a .eu domain name with GB/GI as the country code of the registrant be already in the SUSPENDED status, we will evaluate the reasons behind it on a case-by-case basis and eventually, move forward with its withdrawal.

.eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS and are in the QUARANTINE status at the time of UK withdrawal

No transfer to GB/GI registrants from quarantine will be possible during the two-month period. Transfer to a non-GB/GI registrant will be possible, however.

 

[brian!]

update from 22 March 2019...

Quote

Due to ongoing uncertainties over the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, EURid has placed on hold any plan regarding domain names registered to individuals and undertakings located in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. Those plans were set out in European Commission’s notice to .eu stakeholders, published on 28 March 2018.

As soon as we receive official updates from the European Commission on how to proceed, we will amend the plans on this web page and communicate with affected stakeholders as appropriate, and as instructed by the Commission.  We thank you for your patience.

I guess that will remain in place until 12 April 2019 at least, possibly until 22 May 2019... or who knows when! 🙄

thread now seems to be locked, so I can't add a new post, only edit existing posts - i'll add the update from September 2019, but anything written here could well be out of date soon...

Quote

Page last updated: 9 September 2019

According to Article 4(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 733/2002, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/517, as of 19 October 2019 the following persons are eligible to register .eu domain names:  

(i) a Union citizen, independently of their place of residence;
(ii) a natural person who is not a Union citizen and who is a resident of a Member State;
(iii) an undertaking that is established in the Union; or
(iv) an organisation that is established in the Union, without prejudice to the application of national law.

 

Should the UK leave the EU with no deal on 1st November 2019, EURid will enforce the following measures as far as .eu domain names that have GB/GI as the registrant’s residence country code are concerned:

1. New registrations

From 1st November 2019, 00:00:00 CET, EURid will NOT allow the registration of any new domain name where the registrant’s residence or establishment country code is either GB or GI, unless the citizenship country code of the registrant corresponds to an EU27 Member State.

2. .eu domain names that have GB or GI as the registrant’s residence country code, at the time of UK withdrawal

On 24 October 2019, as of 00:00:00 CEST, and following explicit confirmation by the Commission, EURid will notify by email both GB and GI registrants and their registrars about their forthcoming non-compliance with the .eu regulatory framework.

On 1 November 2019, as of 00:00:00 CET, EURid will again notify by email both GB and GI registrants and their registrars that their domain name(s) is no longer compliant with the .eu regulatory framework.

Registrants will be given the possibility to demonstrate their compliance with the .eu regulatory framework by updating their contact data before 1 January 2020, 00:00:00 CET. They could do so by indicating a legally established entity in one of the eligible EU27 or EEA Member States, or updating their residence to an EU27 or EEA Member State, or providing a citizenship country code corresponding to an EU27 Member State irrespective of their residence. During this two-month period, the domain names in question will remain active and can continue to be used by the registrant.

During this two-month period, the following actions are possible for domain names that have GB or GI as the registrant’s residence or establishment country code:

• Contact data changes including updates to existing contact details pertaining to: phone; email; street; postal code; residence or establishment country code (to one of the eligible EU27 or EEA Member State);
• Updating a contact or linking a new contact;
• Providing citizenship country code corresponding to an EU27 Member State
• Name server and DNSSEC changes;
• Transfer the domain name to a non GB/GI registrant.

During this two-month period, the following actions are NOT possible for domain names that have GB or GI as the registrant’s residence or establishment country code:

• Transfer the domain name to another GB or GI registrant, unless they have a citizenship country code of an EU27 Member State;
• Term extension;
• Automatic renewal: any domain name that has GB or GI as registrant’s residence country code, does not have a citizenship country code corresponding to an EU27 Member State and expires in the period between 1 November 2019, 00:00:00 CET, and 1 January 2020, 00:00:00 CET, will not be automatically renewed. It will be moved to the WITDHRAWN status at the moment it expires.

As of 1 January 2020, 00:00:00 CET, all registrants who did not demonstrate their eligibility will be deemed ineligible and their domain names will be WITHDRAWN. A WITHDRAWN domain name no longer functions, as the domain name is removed from the zone file and can no longer support any active services (such as websites or email).

Twelve months after the UK withdrawal, i.e. on 1 November 2020 00:00:00 CET, all the affected domain names will be REVOKED, and will become AVAILABLE for general registration. Their release will occur in batches from the time they become available.

3. .eu domain names that have GB or GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS and are in the ON-HOLD status at the time of UK withdrawal.

With respect to domain names that are ON HOLD, meaning for which there is a legal court case pending, these domain names will remain registered until there is an outcome of the court case. However, they will be SUSPENDED and will cease to function as of 1 January 2020, 00:00:00 CET. If a court ruling establishes a transfer to an eligible party, EURid will implement that decision in the usual way. If, however, the outcome of the court case is that the domain name should stay with the GB or GI registrant and the registrant is unable to demonstrate eligibility (change of residence to one of the eligible EU27 or EEA Member State or EU27 citizenship), EURid will WITHDRAW that domain name as soon as practicable after having liaised with the court and having received the final decision from the court.

4. .eu domain names that have GB or GI as the registrant’s residence country code and are in the SUSPENDED status at the time of UK withdrawal.

Should a .eu domain name with GB/GI as the country code of the registrant be already in the SUSPENDED status, EURid will evaluate the reasons behind it on a case-by-case basis and eventually, move forward with its withdrawal.

5. .eu domain names that have GB or GI as the registrant country code within WHOIS and are in the QUARANTINE status at the time of UK withdrawal.

No transfer to GB/GI registrants from quarantine will be possible during the two-month period between 1 November, 00:00:00 CET, and 1 Jan 2020, 00:00:00 CET, unless they have a citizen country code of an EU27 Member State. Transfer to a non-GB/GI registrant will remain possible.

PLEASE NOTE:

• There may be situations of EU citizens, who at present are residing in the UK and have registered a .eu domain name. These citizens will remain eligible as the new eligibility criterion for the .eu top-level domain enters into force on 19 October 2019. They will have to update the registration data by liaising with their registrar and communicating their citizenship before 1 January 2020, 00:00:00 CET, or earlier if their domain name expires before this date.
• In the event that some UK nationals that do not reside in the EU27 have registered a domain name between 19 October and 1 November, providing a non-EU residence country code and a UK citizenship country code, they will be provided with the same opportunity as UK residents to demonstrate their compliance with the .eu regulatory framework by updating their contact data before 1 January 2020, 00:00:00 CET.
• UK citizens that are resident in the EU27 will remain eligible on the basis of the residence country code that they have provided. UK citizens living outside of the EU, on the other hand, will no longer be eligible.

Edited October 22, 2019 by brian!

[brian!]

Quote

Page last updated: 03 June 2020

“On 1st February 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union (Union). The Withdrawal Agreement (available here) provides for a transition period until at least 31 December 2020. During the transition period, undertakings and organisations established in the United Kingdom and United Kingdom residents and citizens will continue to be able to hold and register a .eu domain name. The plan outlined below will apply as from the end of the transition period.(1)”

According to Article 4 (2) (b) of Regulation (EC) No 733/2002, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/517, the following persons, undertakings and organisations are eligible to register .eu domain names:  

• a Union citizen, independently of their place of residence;
• a natural person who is not a Union citizen and who is a resident of a Member State;
• an undertaking that is established in the Union; or
• an organisation that is established in the Union, without prejudice to the application of national law.

After the end of the transition period: United Kingdom undertakings or organisations established in the United Kingdom but not in the Union, United Kingdom citizens who are not resident of a Union Member State, and United Kingdom residents who are not Union citizens (hereinafter ‘UK registrants’) will no longer be eligible to hold a .eu domain name.

The transition period will end on 31 December 2020 unless the Union and the United Kingdom jointly agree before 1 July 2020 an extension of that period. In the absence of such an extension, EURid will enforce the following measures:

1. New registrations

As from 1 January 2021, 00:00:00 CET, EURid will NOT allow the registration of any new domain name by UK registrants.

From that date, EURid will allow neither the transfer, nor the transfer through update, of any domain name to a UK registrant.

2. Existing registrations

On 1 October 2020, EURid will notify by email all UK registrants and their registrars that they will lose their eligibility as of 1 January 2021 unless they demonstrate their compliance with the .eu regulatory framework by updating their registration data before 31 December 2020. They could do so by indicating a legally established entity in one of the eligible Union Member States, or updating their residence to a Union Member State, or proving their citizenship of a Union Member State irrespective of their residence.

On 21 December 2020, EURid will notify by email all UK registrants who did not demonstrate continued compliance with the eligibility criteria and their registrars about the risk of forthcoming non-compliance with the .eu regulatory framework.

On 1 January 2021, as of 00:00:00 CET, EURid will again notify by email all UK registrants and their registrars that their domain name(s) is(are) no longer compliant with the .eu regulatory framework and is(are) consequently withdrawn.

As of 1 January 2021, 00:00:00 CET, the domain name(s) of any UK registrant who did not demonstrate his/her/its eligibility will be WITHDRAWN. A withdrawn domain name no longer functions, as the domain name is removed from the zone file and can no longer support any active services (such as websites or email).

Twelve months after the end of the transition period, i.e. on 1 January 2022 00:00:00 CET, all the affected domain names will be REVOKED, and will become AVAILABLE for general registration. Their release will occur in batches from the time they become available.

PLEASE NOTE:

• Union citizens who are residing in the United Kingdom will remain eligible to hold a .eu domain name after the end of the transition period. They will have to update their registration data and prove their Union citizenship.
• United Kingdom citizens residing in a Union Member State will remain eligible to hold a .eu domain name after the end of the transition period. United Kingdom citizens residing outside of the Union Member States, on the other hand, will no longer be eligible to hold a .eu domain name after the end of the transition period.

(1)Should the transition period be extended for up to 1 or 2 years in accordance with Article 132 of the Withdrawal Agreement, the specific dates of present plan should be adapted accordingly.

 

[vincent1]

hi, does anyone know if the recent brexit agreement will affect or change the rules for new or existing .EU domain holders?

I also can't see how to add citizenship to .eu domains already registered with ResellerClub, can anyone help or advise please?

Thanks in advance.

 

[brian!]

22 hours ago, vincent1 said:

hi, does anyone know if the recent brexit agreement will affect or change the rules for new or existing .EU domain holders?

I wouldn't expect it to have made any changes, e.g UK left the EU 12 months ago and the transition period ends on Thursday - AFAIK, there has been no extension to that transition wrt the .eu TLD, so the previous announced changes by the EU will apply from Friday.

On 28/12/2020 at 12:59, vincent1 said:

I also can't see how to add citizenship to .eu domains already registered with ResellerClub, can anyone help or advise please?

neither can I via another LogicBoxes registrar - probably worth contacting resellerclub's support directly.

[pjs32]

You need to do it via their API

 

Please refer below for the complete API calls to be used for both cases:

• Creating the EuContact:

https://test.httpapi.com/api/contacts/add.json?auth-userid=0&api-key=key&name=abc&company=company&email=urname@domain.com&address-line-1=address1&city=city&country=nn&zipcode=0&phone-cc=0&phone=0&customer-id=0&type=EuContact&attr-name1=countryOfCitizenship&attr-value1={Two-lettered country code}

Please note the following caveats for EuContacts:

• The name string can only be upto 50 characters in length
• The company string can only be upto 100 characters in length
• In case of EuContact, if there is no associated Company, you may mention NA for this parameter.
• The zipcode string can only accept upto 16 characters for EuContact
• The list of two-letter country codes for the countryOfCitizenship attribute are provided below:
  • AT,BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, DK, ES, EE, FI, FR, GR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK

The above call will return the contact ID of the newly added contact. You can use it to assign it to the domain via the following call:

• Modifying contact assigned to the domain:

https://test.httpapi.com/api/domains/modify-contact.json?auth-userid=0&api-key=key&order-id=0&reg-contact-id={contact id}&admin-contact-id=-1&tech-contact-id=-1&billing-contact-id=-1

The admin-contact-id, tech-contact-id and billing-contact-id parameters should be passed with a -1 value as there is no provision available to update them from within our system.

[ChrisTERiS]

@pjs32

Just to fix a common mistake for Greece. The official country name is Hellas (Hellenic Republic) and not Greece. So the European's Union official 2 letter country code for "Greece" is EL and not GR

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Glossary:Country_codes

The paradox is that some EU Vat validators accept GR99999999 and not EL99999999 but the majority and the official EU validator accepts only EL

PS: It's funny. Before 13 years, I've registered here, just 4 week before you. 🤪

Edited December 29, 2020 by WHMUp

[vincent1]

20 hours ago, pjs32 said:

You need to do it via their API

Hi,
Thanks for the info, but not many of us are developers or have ability to do these things via the API's, hence we pay and use the WHMCS integration to cover this.

 

 

[pjs32]

I am only passing on what logocboxes told me and they said the only way was via their API 

 

 

 

[brian!]

2 hours ago, vincent1 said:

Thanks for the info, but not many of us are developers or have ability to do these things via the API's, hence we pay and use the WHMCS integration to cover this.

I wouldn't expect to see the WHMCS core program handle this any time soon (I don't think it's in v8.1, so it would likely be months away at best - e.g you're in the realms of feature requests).

if the only option is API, then it might be worth checking with Marco to see if his ResellerclubTools v2 addon can handle this - it's not really free any more, but might be worth a look if this is something that you might need to do on a regular basis.