With the opening of regulatory doors, allowing every European citizen the right to attach a .eu suffix to their domain name, the EU predicts that the number of applications received will surge “like a tsunami.”
 |
Source: AFP |
Four months after public authorities were allowed to bid for .eu addresses and two months after European businesses, starting this Friday, any individual within the EU can establish a website with a .eu domain.
“No one knows exactly how many new domain registrations there will be, but it will certainly be significant. I estimate there will be several hundred thousand new .eu domain owners, filled with pride and honor starting this Friday,” said Marc van Wesemael, director of EURid.
However, the .eu suffix does not intend to completely replace the country-specific domains that EU member states are currently using, such as .uk for the United Kingdom, .fr for France, or .de for Germany, nor does it aim to replace more popular domains like .com and .org.
Since January, approximately 335,000 institutions and businesses have submitted applications for .eu domains for their websites or email addresses. Ironically, the most frequently applied for domain is “sex.eu,” followed by lucrative business sectors such as real estate “realestate.eu” and hotels “hotel.eu.”
Clearly, not every application is approved. So far, about 52,000 applications have been approved, 180,000 are still under review, and around 100,000 applications have been denied for various reasons.
The Germans are the most enthusiastic, accounting for 28.6% of the total applications. Other countries are more cautious, with the Netherlands at 16.6% and France at 11%.
The European Commission hopes that by the end of this year, there will be several million .eu domains in use. “The high interest in .eu confirms the appeal of this domain and ensures it will be a great success,” a spokesperson for the Commission stated.
While the application process for public administration and businesses may seem somewhat complex, EURid assures that this time the procedure will be more transparent and straightforward. Individuals can submit applications at over 1,500 registration centers, after which the information will be submitted to EURid. The only requirement is that the applicant must prove their European nationality. Registration fees are also reasonably priced, ranging from 12 to 100 euros depending on the country.
Thien Y
