Amended proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the Implementation of the Internet Level Domain ".EU" (presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty)
Date: 2001-10-02
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union, Internet, database, dissemination of EU information, intellectual property, international standard

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 2.10.2001
COM(2001) 535 final

2000/0328 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNET TOP LEVEL DOMAIN “.EU” 

(presented by the Commission pursuant to Article 250 (2)
of the EC Treaty)

2000/0328 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNET TOP LEVEL DOMAIN “.EU” 

BACKGROUND

Transmission of the Proposals to the Council and the European
Parliament (COM(2000)827 final – 2000/0328/COD))
in accordance with article 175(1) of the Treaty :12 December 2000

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee :28 March 2001

Opinion of the Committee of Regions :No opinion

Opinion of the European Parliament - first reading :4 July 2001

OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMISSION PROPOSAL

The  regulation  implementing  an  Internet  Top  Level  Domain  “.EU”  aims  to  provide
undertakings, organisations and individuals in Europe with a new domain for registration of
names  and  to  promote  easier  access  to  Internet  networks.  The  regulation  sets  out  the
conditions  for  the  implementation  of  such  a  Top  Level  Domain  and  determines  the
characteristics  to  be  met  and  the  obligations  to  observed  by  the  Registry  which  will  be
designated  to  organise,  administer  and  manage  the  .EU  Top  Level  Domain.  The  regulation
also establishes the general policy framework.

COMMISSION OPINION ON THE AMENDMENTS ADOPTED BY THE PARLIAMENT

Amendments accepted by the Commission

On the 39 amendments adopted by the European Parliament, 23 amendments are accepted by
the Commission namely amendments 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 25, 26,
28, 31, 35, 38, 39 and 40.

Amendment 1 proposing a new recital stating that the establishment of the .EU country code
Top  Level  Domain  (ccTLD)  will  strengthen  the  EU  image  on  global  information  networks,
and provide added value in respect of existing ccTLDS. 

Amendment  2  proposing  a  reference  to  the  Internet  Corporation  for  Assigned  Names  and
Numbers (ICANN),  and  its  current  responsibility  for  the  delegation  of  codes  for  Top  Level
domains.  It  also  includes  a  reference  to  the  Council  Resolution  of  3  October  2000  on  the
implementation of the principles adopted by the Governmental Advisory Committee, and the
need for the Registry to enter into a contract with ICANN. 

Amendment  3  referring  to  the  “Whois”-type  databases  and  their  role  in  boosting  users
confidence. The “Whois”-type database is a standard feature of the Domain Name System and

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provides  Internet  users  with  basic  contact  information  in  relation  with  the  domain  name
registrant.

Amendment  4  referring  to  international  practice  of  Internet  management  based  on  the
principles  of  non-interference,  self-management  and  self-regulation  in  so  far  as  these
principles would apply to management issues not addressed by this Regulation. 

Amendment 5 referring to Community law on personal data protection and principles relating
to privacy and protection of personal data.

Amendment  7 is acceptable as it provides  that  the  Registry  will  not  be  empowered  to  issue
sub-domain registrations using Member State domain identities. The Commission agrees that
it would be inappropriate for second level domains to include combinations of letters  which
appear to refer to individual Member States and could be confusing.

Amendment  8  which  explains  that  reference  to  “interested  parties”  in  the  regulation  should
cover undertakings, organisations, natural persons and public authorities. 

Amendment  10  (article  1)  stipulating  that  the  regulation  shall  apply  without  prejudice  to
arrangements  in  Member  States  regarding  country-code  Top  Level  Domains.  Such  domains
are not covered by the regulation.

Amendment  11  (article  2)  extending  the  definition  of  the  Registry’s  activities  by  adding
specific reference to the public query services (otherwise known as the “Whois” queries) and
the operation of the registry of domain names. 

Amendment 12 (article 2) providing a definition of a “Registrar”.

Amendment 16 (article 2) stipulating that the Registry shall enter into a contract to ensure the
delegation of the .EU Top Level Domain code with prior consent of the Commission clarifies
the text proposed by the Commission.

Amendment 17 (article 2) stipulating that the Registry shall not act as a Registrar. 

Amendment 19 (article 3) requiring the Registry to observe, in addition to the rules, policies
and  procedures  of  the  Regulation,  the  contracts  referred  to  in  Article  2  and  to  observe
transparent and non-discriminatory procedures. 

Amendment 21 (article  3) proposing  that the Registry  shall  administer  and  manage  the  .EU
Top Level Domain in the general interest. 

Amendment 22 (article 3) proposing the deletion of the provision requiring that the Registry
observe  applicable  public  procurement  rules.  The  addition  deletion  of  the  reference  to
transparent and non-discriminatory procedures is ensuring consistency with amendment 19. 

Amendments  25,  26,  28  (article  3)  proposing  explicit  references  to  the  Registry’s
responsibilities for accrediting .EU Registrars,  ensuring the integrity of the database and for
the  suspension,  cancellation  and  transfer  of  registrations  which  are  normal  functions  of  a
Registry.

Amendment  31  (article  3)  proposing  that  the  Registry  shall  determine  registration  policy  in
areas not covered by general policy rules. The Commission agrees that the Registry should be

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primarily responsible for the definition of Registry policy with the exception of public policy
rules as stipulated in article 4. 

Amendment 35 (article 4) including a reference to the need for the extra-judicial settlement of
conflicts policy to “promptly” resolve disputes, and that this procedure should be either free
of charge or on no more than a cost-recovery basis.

Amendment 38 (article 4) addressing the question of a policy for domain names which have
become “bona vacantia”. The reference to “national best practice” in this amendment should
however be replaced by a reference to “best practices” since best practices in this area exists
as well on national as on international level.

Amendment 39 (article 5) is a precision of the proposal of the Commission as it provides, - in
relation  to  the  committee  assisting  the  Commission-,  that  until  the  entry  into  force  of  the
directive  on  a  common  regulatory  framework  for  electronic  communications  networks  and
services,  the  Commission  should  be  assisted  by  the  committee  established  under  Council
directive  90/387/EEC  on  the  establishment  of  the  internal  market  for  telecommunications
services through the implementation of open network provision1.

Amendment 40 (article 6) relating to the submission of regular reports to the Parliament and
the Council on the operation of the .EU Top Level Domain.

AMENDMENTS ACCEPTED IN PART OR IN PRINCIPLE BY THE COMMISSION

Amendment 9 and 13

As regards the call for expression of interest and its publication in the Official Journal of the
European  Communities,  the  Commission  can  accept  in  principle  amendment  9  and
amendment 13 in so far as one reference only to the call for expression of interest is made as
outlined  in  amendment  13  and  deleting  this  reference  in  amendment  9.  The  Commission  is
fully  committed  to  the  need  for  transparency  in  the  procedure  and  supports  a  call  for
expressions of interest in the OJ. That said, the regulation itself will be published in the OJ,
and  additional  publicity  could  be  more  effectively  achieved  through  alternative  methods  of
publication (such as through the Commission’s official web-site). 

The  Commission  can  accept  part  of  amendment  9  and  more  specifically  the  first  sentence
“The objective of this Regulation is to implement the .EU Top Level domain (TLD) within the
European Community” and the reference at the end of the amendment to the “general” policy
framework in Article 1.

Amendment 14 

The Commission agrees with the principle that the activities of the Registry should not result
in costs to the Commission and can therefore accept in principle the amendment subject to the
following rewording : “All cost related to the organisation, administration and management
of the .EU Top Level Domain shall be supported exclusively by the Registry”. This rewording
is  necessary  to  avoid  the  potential  confusion  which  could  be  generated  by  the  reference  to
“services  provided  by  the  Commission”,  and  in  order  to  clarify  the  purpose  of  this
amendment.

1 

OJ L 192, 24.7.1990, p. 1.

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Amendment 18 

While  the  Commission  agrees  with  the  need  for  the  Registry  to  consult  widely  with  the
European Internet community, it is unclear how a Policy Advisory Board established by this
regulation would interact with the role of the Commission and the Member States in the area
of  public  policies,  and  with  the  Registry’s  commitment  to  consult  under  article  3  with
interested parties. In addition it is questionable whether such a Policy Advisory Body would
be  consistent  with  the  procedures  for  the  exercise  of  implementing  powers  confer  to  the
Commission. For this reason, the Commission can accept the principle of consultation by the
Registry  of  an  advisory  body  but  would  subject  its  acceptance  to  a  reformulation  of  the
amendment,  as  an  addition  to  amendment  8,  as  follows  :  “The  Registry  could  establish  an
advisory body to organise such consultation”.

Amendment 20 

The  Commission  agrees  that  the  Registry  should  identify  and  apply  best  practices  in
organising, administering and managing the .EU Top Level Domain, wherever they occur, but
not  to  restrict  such  an  approach  to  the  national  level.  For  this  reason,  the  Commission  can
accept the following rewording : “Taking account of best practices, the Registry shall:”.

Amendment 29 

The Commission has already accepted Amendment 35 referring to the policy and procedure
on  an  extra-judicial  settlement  of  conflicts  to  resolve  disputes  between  domain  names  and
intellectual property  rights  promptly  and  free  of  charge  or  on  no  more  than  a  cost-recovery
basis  and  therefore  accepts  the  principle  of  amendment  29  but  is  of  the  opinion  that
amendment  35  covers  this  principle.  The  Commission  supports  the  implementation  of  the
policy by the Registry and could therefore accept a rewording of this amendment as follows :
“implement  the  extra-judicial  settlement  of  conflicts  policy  and  a  procedure  to  promptly
resolve disputes between domain name holders regarding rights relating to names including
intellectual  property  rights  as  well  as  disputes  in  relation  to  individual  decisions  by  the
Registry. This policy shall be adopted according to Article 4 and take into consideration the
recommendations of the World Intellectual Property Organisation  (WIPO). The policy shall
provide  adequate  procedural  guaranties  for  the  parties  concerned  and  shall  apply  without
prejudice to any court proceeding. 

Amendments 30 and 36 

The  Commission  agrees  that  a  code  of  conduct  could  be  a  useful  element  of  a  registration
policy, and can accept a reference to codes of conduct in principle, but would reformulate the
amendment as an addition to amendment 4 and as follows : “The implementation of the .EU
Top  Level  Domain  should  be  achieved  taking  into  consideration  best  practices  and  be
supported by voluntary guidelines or codes of conduct where appropriate.”

Amendment 32 

The  Commission  agree  that  a  first-come,  first-served  approach  is  an  approach  the  Registry
should observe in principle, with the exception of cases covered by the public policy rules set
out  in  article  4.  The  Commission  can  accept  a  reference  to  such  policy  as  an  addition  to
Article 3.3 of its proposal as follows : “Unless otherwise stipulated in this Regulation or in
the public policy rules, registrations will be effected on a first come, first served basis.”

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The  Commission  accepts  the  need  for  an  implementation  in  a  phased  manner  of  the
registration  of  domain  names  of  holders  with  prior  rights  recognised  or  established  by
national and/or Community law and can therefore accept part of Amendment 32 subject to the
following rewording : “The registration of domain names by the Registry may be implemented
in a  phased  manner  to  ensure  appropriate  temporary  opportunities  for  the  holders  of  prior
rights  recognised  or  established  by  national  and/or  Community  law.”  The  extent  to  which
holders  of  prior  rights  recognised  by  national  and/or  Community  law  and  public  bodies  are
offered  a  possibility  of  a  temporary  registration  period  is  to  be  determined  as  part  of  the
policy on speculative and abusive registration of domain names. 

The  amendment  also  proposes  that  registration  shall  confer  no  legal  rights  on  the  registrant
and that the Registry shall incur no legal liability in relation to names registered in breach of
the  rights  of  a  third  party.  The  Commission  feels  however,  that  the  registration  of  a  name
should  at  least  confer  rights  of  use  to  the  registrant,  and  that  liability  of  the  registry  will
already be covered by applicable law or by the contractual framework.

Amended proposal

Having regard to Article 250 (2) of the EC Treaty, the Commission modifies its proposals as
indicated above.

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