Australian-based EU citizens to get access to .eu domains

Internationally based European Union citizens will soon be able to register .eu domain names under new rules developed by EURid.

From 19 October, the top-level internet domain will be available to the 12 million Europeans living in Australia, the US and Canada alone, as well as those across the rest of the world.

.eu domain operator EURid said the move will allow people to create personal online platforms — such as blogs, travel diaries or personal businesses — and “share their lives with their friends and families back home”.

It will also allow people to show their identity in a reliable, trustworthy and secure way while bringing their individual and consumer rights under the aegis of European standards and regulations, EURid continued.

However, it’s not all good news. If 31 October passes with a no-deal Brexit, UK businesses that fail to meet EURid’s new criteria could lose their .eu domain by 1 January 2020, leaving their domain name up for general registration from 1 November. In the event of a no-deal Brexit, UK-based businesses should consider migrating their sites to other top-level domains and seek legal advice on contractual agreements governing their domains.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/Pavel Ignatov