A common question we get from our UK based customers is about .EU domains and the effect of Brexit. Here we summarise all you need to know if you are a UK based business that is making use of a .EU domain name.
Background
As of 1-Feb-2020 the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union. A transition period was agreed for all aspects of the withdrawal until Dec-2020. This means that several legal, technical and other adjustments became necessary to reflect the changes that Brexit brings about.
.EU Domains
One change brought about by Brexit is in the eligibility of organisations to register and make use of .EU domain names for their Internet services. Since the requirements for these domains require the the registrant to be an EU citizen or a registered business within one of the EU member countries, this now no longer includes the UK. For this reason, affected domains will be effectively revoked.
Timeline
Affected domains have already been suspended until the end of 2021. They are still held by the registry pending transfer by the registered owner. The registrar has sent notifications to the owners of this with further instructions. As from 1-Jan-2022, these affected domains will be revoked (cancelled) and will become available for general registration to the public.
In conclusion, if you are a UK based organisation or a UK national (living in the UK) and you are still the owner or using a .EU domain name for your Internet services you should take immediate action to move to a new domain and/or transfer the domain ownership to an eligible entity.
Read the full details and terms of this transition in this document from EURID.