Eurid, the registry manager of .eu domain names, announced that thousands of .eu domain name owners in the U.K. whose websites and email addresses are still suspended since January, and now they are granted an extra 3 months to comply with rules after Brexit or their domains will be withdrawn for good. Eurid stated that the deadline extension is an opportunity for domain owners to demonstrate their compliance with the .eu regulatory framework.
81,000 non-compliant domains suspended
U.K. citizens lost their right to own a .eu domain name when the Brexit transition period came to an end on 31st of December, 2020, which means the country ceased to be a part of the EU. As a result, Eurid had to suspend 81,000 non-compliant domains, since .eu domains can’t be allocated to non-EU citizens who are residing in a non-member country. Suspended domains can’t support any services, however, it is not a complete withdrawal.
According to the statement, over 8,000 suspended .eu domains managed to comply with the new rules. The remaining 73,000 domains now have an extra 3 months before the domains are completely withdrawn. To comply with the EU regulations, .eu domain owners should change their registration data, by linking it to an address in the EU, or they should indicate their residence in an EU member state, or by providing EU their citizenship. Eurid also stated,
“Should you be an affected domain name holder, we urge you to contact your registrar (the company through which you registered the domain name) and update the domain name(s) contact address or citizenship as soon as possible. Your registrar information can be found in the WHOIS database. When the update of the domain name contact is completed, please send us a message to [email protected] with the domain name included.”