EU domain names and Brexit – the 2020 update

Following our last post on this matter, a little over a year ago, it’s fair to say there’s been more than a few twists and turns in the saga regarding U.K. based holders of .eu domain names. Despite previous guidance that domain names would be revoked – this action never transpired from EURid – the EU domain name registry.

We realise this changing narrative is frustrating for holders of .eu domains, but we’re ultimately only able to follow the guidance issued directly by the registries. Speaking of which EURid’s latest advice is as follows:

The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020 at midnight (CET). After full ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK and the EU entered into the so-called “transition period”. This time-limited period was agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement and will last until 31 December 2020 at least. During the transition period UK 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 and will soon be updated accordingly.

That means if you still have an .eu domain, you’re still free to use it. Renewals are seemingly still being allowed at this time also. We would of course advise extreme caution. The situation is entirely unpredictable and could change at any time. For U.K. based businesses still relying on .eu domain names – we’d perhaps caution transitioning anyway to a new domain name while there’s still time to do so.

For the latest, you might want to bookmark the EURid Brexit page, which will be updated as the situation develops.