Source: EURLEX
Language: en
Format: md

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| 14.5.2013 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 134/10 |

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CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST FOR THE SELECTION OF THE .eu TLD REGISTRY

2013/C 134/06

1.   Background

Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the implementation of the .eu top level domain was adopted on 22 April 2002. It was published and entered into force on 30 April 2002[(1)](#ntr1-C_2013134EN.01001001-E0001). This Regulation provides for the designation by the European Commission of a top level domain (TLD) Registry which will be entrusted with the organisation, administration and management of the ‘.eu’ TLD. In Article 2 of the Regulation, the Registry is defined as ‘the entity entrusted with the organisation, administration and management of the .eu TLD including maintenance of the corresponding databases and the associated public query services, registration of domain names, operation of the Registry of domain names, operation of the Registry TLD name servers and dissemination of TLD zone files’.

Moreover, Regulation (EC) No 874/2004 laying down public policy rules concerning the implementation and functions of the .eu top level domain and the principles governing registration was adopted on 28 April 2004. It was published and entered into force on 30 April 2004[(2)](#ntr2-C_2013134EN.01001001-E0002). This Regulation has been amended by Regulation (EC) No 560/2009. According to the recital 1 of the Regulation, ‘Registry, (…), is required to be a non-profit organisation that should operate and provide services on a cost covering basis and at an affordable price’.

Following a call for expressions of interest published in the [Official Journal of the European Communities on 3 September 2002 (C 208/08)](./../../../legal-content/EN/AUTO/?uri=OJ:C:2002:208:TOC), Commission Decision of 21 May 2003 on the designation of the .eu top level domain Registry (2003/375/EC)[(3)](#ntr3-C_2013134EN.01001001-E0003) designated the European Registry for Internet Domains (EURID) as the entity entrusted with the organisation, management and administration of the .eu top level domain. The initial contract between Commission and the selected dot.eu Registry operator (EURid) was signed on 12 October 2004 for a term of 5five years and then renewed in 2009 for another five years. The current contract will therefore expire on 12 October 2014.

The purpose of this call for expressions of interest is to invite applications from organisations wishing to be considered as candidates for the Registry selection procedure related to the future operation of the dot.eu top level domain. The selection procedure is based on an open call, and on principles of objectivity, non-discrimination and transparency.

The characteristics and tasks of the Registry are specified in Articles 3, 4 and 5 of the Regulation. The Commission wishes to point out in particular:

‘Article 3

2.   The Registry shall be a non-profit organisation, formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and having its registered office, central administration and principal place of business within the Community.

3.   Having obtained the prior consent of the Commission, the Registry shall enter into the appropriate contract providing for the delegation of the .eu ccTLD code.

4.   The .eu TLD Registry shall not act itself as Registrar.

Article 4

1.   The Registry shall observe the rules, policies and procedures laid down in this Regulation and the contracts referred to in Article 3. The Registry shall observe transparent and non-discriminatory procedures.

2.   The Registry shall:

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| (a) | organise, administer and manage the .eu TLD in the general interest and on the basis of principles of quality, efficiency, reliability and accessibility; |

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| (b) | register domain names in the .eu TLD through any accredited .eu Registrar requested by any:   |  |  | | --- | --- | | (i) | undertaking having its registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the Community;  or |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (ii) | organisation established within the Community without prejudice to the application of national law;  or |  |  |  | | --- | --- | | (iii) | natural person resident within the Community; | |

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| (c) | impose fees directly related to costs incurred; |

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| (d) | implement the extra-judicial settlement of conflicts policy based on recovery of costs and a procedure to resolve promptly 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 in accordance with Article 5(1) and take into consideration the recommendations of the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The policy shall provide adequate procedural guaranties for the parties concerned, and shall apply without prejudice to any court proceeding; |

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| (e) | adopt procedures for, and carry out, accreditation of .eu Registrars and ensure effective and fair conditions of competition among .eu Registrars; |

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| (f) | ensure the integrity of the databases of domain names. |

Article 5

Policy framework

1.   After consulting the Registry, the Commission shall adopt public policy rules concerning the implementation and function of the .eu TLD and public policy principles on registration. Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Regulation by supplementing it, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 6(3).

Public policy shall include:

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| (a) | an extra-judicial settlement of conflicts policy; |

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| (b) | public policy on speculative and abusive registration of domain names, including the possibility of registration of domain names in a phased manner to ensure appropriate temporary opportunities for the holders of prior rights recognised or established by national and/or Community law and public bodies to register their names; |

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| (c) | policy on possible revocation of domain names, including the question of bona vacantia; |

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| (d) | issues of language and geographical concepts; |

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| (e) | treatment of intellectual property and other rights. |

2.   Within three months of the entry into force of this Regulation, Member States may notify to the Commission and to the other Member States a limited list of broadly-recognised names with regard to geographical and/or geopolitical concepts which affect their political or territorial organisation that may either:

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| (a) | not be registered; or |

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| (b) | be registered only under a second level domain according to the public policy rules. |

The Commission shall notify to the Registry without delay the list of notified names to which such criteria apply. The Commission shall publish the list at the same time as it notifies the Registry.

Where a Member State or the Commission within 30 days of publication raises an objection to an item included in a notified list, the Commission shall take measures, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 6(3), to remedy the situation.

3.   Before starting registration operations, the Registry shall adopt the initial registration policy for the .eu TLD in consultation with the Commission and other interested parties. The Registry shall implement in the registration policy the public policy rules adopted pursuant to paragraph 1 taking into account the exception lists referred to in paragraph 2.

4.   The Commission shall periodically inform the Committee referred to in Article 6 on the activities referred to in paragraph 3 of this Article.’

The evaluation and selection of the Registry will take place on the basis of the selection criteria adopted according to the Regulation and included in this call for expressions of interest. The Commission may decide to use external experts to assist in this evaluation. The choice of experts will be made on their competence, independence and their specific knowledge of the market.

2.   Invitation to submit applications

In accordance with Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 on the implementation of the .eu top level domain, the European Commission is hereby inviting submissions for the selection of a Registry which will be entrusted with the organisation, administration and management of the .eu top level domain.

In order to assist applicants and to standardise the type of information submitted, an indication of the type of information requested by the Commission is provided in the annexes to this call. All applicants should present their application in accordance with the information requested in the annexes. The application must be signed by an authorised representative of the organisation. Additional relevant information may be submitted at the discretion of the applicant, but any submissions not providing all of the information requested in the annexes will not be considered as eligible. An electronic copy of the expressions of interest should also be included with the submission.

Applications are invited to be submitted in one step. The selection of the Registry shall be made as a result of this call for expressions of interest. No additional call is intended to take place for the selection of the Registry.

Submission of applications which have not met the deadlines set out below will not be considered for evaluation under this call notice.

Expressions of interest in response to this notice should be submitted by registered mail posted no later than 20 June 2013 (date of postmark), or by delivery (in person or by an authorised representative or a private courier service) to the address mentioned below no later than 20 June 2013 (17.00). A receipt must be obtained as proof of submission, signed and dated by an official in the department mentioned below.

Applications must be submitted in four copies (three copies bound, one unbound) in one of the official languages of the European Union. The four copies must be placed inside two sealed envelopes. The outer envelope must bear the address mentioned below, the inner envelope must bear the address mentioned below and be marked ‘Applications to expressions of interest for the selection of the .eu top level domain Registry, submitted by (name of applicant) — not to be opened by the internal mail department’. Self-adhesive envelopes must not be used.

The deadline for the submission of the expressions of interest is 20 June 2013. The address to which expressions of interest should be sent or delivered is:

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| European Commission |
| Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology |
| Mr Eddy HARTOG |
| Unit D1 — International |
| BU 25 04/075 |
| 1049 Bruxelles/Brussel |
| BELGIQUE/BELGIË |

The Commission undertakes to send a confirmation of receipt to the applicant within five days of receiving the application.

It is the responsibility of the applicants to ensure that applications are addressed to the address given above and are dispatched in time to arrive by the deadline. The Commission cannot be held responsible for packages wrongly addressed nor for proposals that are split between packages with no adequate identification to allow the different parts to be reassembled.

Information:

Information about Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 can be found on the following website:

http://ec.europa.eu/information\_society/policy/doteu/index\_en.htm

3.   Eligibility criteria

The following criteria will be checked for all applications:

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| — | date of reception of the application on or before the deadline for reception, |

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| — | signature of the representative of the legal entity submitting the application, |

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| — | completeness of the application, |

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| — | status of the applicant, |

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| — | filled in and signed ‘Declaration of honour with respect to the exclusion criteria and absence of conflict of interest’ (Annex 1a). |

The Registry must be a non-profit organisation, formed in accordance with the law of a Member State and having its registered office, central administration and principal place of business within the European Union.

The application shall identify clearly the Member State in which the non-profit organisation is formed and provide complete information about the location of its registered office, central administration and its principal place of business.

In order to confirm that the status of the applicant conforms to these requirements, the application must include the information set out in Annex 1.

In addition, if the non-profit organisation is set up by a consortium of firms or groups of contractors, the application should include information about the role and status of each member or group. A description of the internal organisation of the non-profit organisation should also be provided unless this is provided in the articles of association or similar type of statutes.

If the non-profit organisation is not yet established at the time of the application, applicants should submit as much tentative information as available regarding each of the above requirements and in addition a clear and precise indication about the timetable and procedure for such establishment.

The Registry must carry out the necessary tasks as a prime contractor, neither as an agent nor subcontractor. Subcontracts may be allowed where necessary for the performance of the work, and with prior and written authorisation of the Commission. In such cases, the contractor shall ensure that the Commission enjoys the same rights and guarantees in relation to third parties as in relation to the contractor himself. In the cases where applicants propose to subcontract any part of the Registry functions, applications shall include the related information as set out in Annex 1(10).

Applicants must provide a declaration on their honour (Annex 1a), duly signed and dated, stating that they are not in one of the situations referred to in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation. This same declaration may also be requested from subcontractors. Candidates who are in the situations referred to in Articles 93 and 94 of the Financial Regulation are excluded from participating in this procedure.

Applications which do not fulfil the eligibility criteria will not be evaluated.

The decision to exclude a proposal for failing eligibility criteria will be taken by the Commission. The applicant of an ineligible proposal will be informed immediately after the Commission decision.

4.   Selection criteria

The selection of the .eu Registry will be based on Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 and on the criteria outlined in this section. The applications must include the information on the selection criteria as set out in Annex 2.

A.   Quality of service

The Registry is the entity entrusted with the organisation, administration and management of the .eu TLD including maintenance of the corresponding databases and the associated public query services, registration of domain names, operation of the registry of domain names, operation of the Registry TLD name-servers and creation and management of the TLD zone files.

Applicants must demonstrate their ability to organise, administer and manage the .eu TLD in the general interest and on the basis of principles of quality, efficiency, reliability and accessibility. Applications shall describe the type of organi-sation, administration and management intended to be put in place and shall provide information on expertise available in the organisation to achieve these functions. Regard may be had to the extent the applicant itself will be able to fulfil the functions as a Registry as opposed to the use of subcontractors.

Applications shall also include a description of the proposed registrar accreditation procedure and conditions, including technical considerations, and the related method to ensure effective and fair conditions of competition among registrars. If available a draft accreditation agreement may be included. The Registry shall not act itself as registrar.

The .eu TLD Registry will also need to take sufficient measures to ensure that the .eu TLD is promoted effectively within the EU, that it generates consumer/user confidence, is conducive to innovation and that it can adapt to the future requirements of potential registrants. Particular attention needs to be given to the linguistic diversity of the European Union, and the need to promote the .eu TLD in the official languages of the EU, including the promotion of variants using internationalised domain names (IDNs). Applications will describe how the applicants intend to achieve these objectives.

This selection criterion will be marked with a maximum of 30. A threshold of 20 will be required for applicants to be considered for selection.

B.   Human and technical resources

Applicants must demonstrate an adequate level of human and technical resources to put in place and ensure the operation of a registration management system which provides a high level of reliability (including contingency provisions in the event of failure), accuracy and efficiency. Geographic diversity in the applicants' proposed management structure and staff will also be considered a positive attribute for the purposes of evaluation.

Applicants also need to demonstrate that the .eu TLD will be managed in a way which is at the very least consistent with the minimum ICANN required functional and performance specifications for ccTLDs registry services.

This selection criterion will be marked with a maximum of 20. A threshold of 14 will be required for applicants to be considered for selection.

The application must include the information as set out in Annex 3.

C.   Financial standing

Applicants must demonstrate a level of financial security and stability which is consistent with the tasks involved. Consideration therefore will be given to the quality of the business plan provided for the proposed registry operation.

The application will include adequate information about the anticipated costs and capital requirements, availability of capital and insurance, a revenue model (including a pricing model), relevant market analysis, a marketing plan and registry failure provisions.

The cost/quality of service relationship is a significant element in the evaluation of the financial standing.

In addition, applicants should provide information on the annual external audits they will submit themselves to.

This selection criterion will be marked with a maximum of 20. A threshold of 14 will be required for applicants to be considered for selection.

No Union financial contribution is available in relation to the implementation of the Regulation. The Registry will collect fees from third parties for the performance of its functions. The investments and expenditure by the Registry are to be undertaken against the expectation of revenue from registrations. After the first year of activities, if a surplus is recorded that may not be invested for enhanced quality of service purposes directly related to the Registry's organisation, administration and management of the .eu TLD, such surplus will be transferred each year to the Union budget. Consideration shall be given to the need to ensure an appropriate operating reserve.

D.   Consultation mechanisms

Applicants should indicate how they intend to consult and take account of the views of other interested parties, in particular with public authorities, undertakings, organisations and natural persons representing different elements of the European Internet community and stakeholders.

In particular, applicants should indicate what consultative mechanism they intend to use for the initial definition of a registration policy and for its subsequent modification.

This selection criterion will be marked with a maximum of 30. A threshold of 20 will be required for applicants to be considered for selection.

E.   Representation

Applicants should indicate how they intend to establish and maintain communication with, and if appropriate participate in, relevant regional or international Internet-related organisations (including notably CENTR (Council of the European National Top Level Domain Registries), RIPE (Réseaux IP Européens), ICANN).

This selection criterion will be marked with a maximum of 10. A threshold of 5 will be required for applicants to be considered for selection.

F.   Impact on the domain name marketplace

The Regulation states that ‘the .eu TLD should promote the use of, and access to, the Internet networks and the virtual marketplace based on the Internet, in accordance with Article 154(2) of the Treaty, by providing a complementary registration domain to existing country-code top level domains (ccTLDs) or global registration in the generic top level domains, and should in consequence increase choice and competition.’ Consideration will therefore be given to the likely impact that the applicant's proposal would have on the competitive situation in the domain name marketplace.

Applications should include relevant data relating to share of sales of the non-profit organisation members or stakeholders in TLD registration activities at regional and global level. Shares should be separately provided for: 1. ‘all gTLDs’; 2. ‘all ccTLDs’; 3. each of the gTLDs in which the respective member or stakeholder is active; 4. each of the respective ccTLDs in which the respective member or stakeholder is active.

This selection criterion will be marked with a maximum of 20. A threshold of 14 will be required for applicants to be considered for selection.

G.   Implementation mechanisms for public policy provisions

Article 5(1) of the Regulation requires the Commission, after consultation with the Registry, to adopt the public policy rules concerning the implementation and functions of the .eu TLD, and public policy principles relating to the registration of domain names[(4)](#ntr4-C_2013134EN.01001001-E0004).

Applicants are therefore invited to identify options for mechanisms to implement the provisions of Article 5(1), outline the financial, logistical and resource implications of such options and to indicate the preferred option of the applicant (and the reasons for preferment).

The applicant should also indicate which options have been used to formulate the revenue-cost model included in the section entitled ‘Financial standing’. Such information will be used by the Commission to help define the public policy rules to be adopted. It should be clear to applicants that the policy to be applicable may differ from the proposal of the selected Registry.

This criterion will not be marked on the basis of the quality of the policy option concerned, since policy will be later decided by the Commission assisted by the Committee mentioned in Article 6 of the Regulation. It will be marked on the basis of the quality of the relationship between the revenue-cost model and alternative policy options.

The maximum mark may be 10. A threshold of 5 will be required for applicants to be considered for selection.

H.   EEA countries and EU enlargement

Applicants should demonstrate how they intend to take into consideration the expected extension of the Regulation to EEA countries and the potential extension to the candidate countries.

This selection criterion will be marked with a maximum of 10. A threshold of 5 will be required for applicants to be considered for selection.

5.   Post-selection procedure

Further to the evaluation of the expressions of interest received within the deadline given in Section 2 above, the Commission will consult with the Member States in the manner provided for in the Regulation, and will proceed to the selection of an appropriate organisation to operate the .eu Registry.

The successful applicant will be invited to conclude a contract with the Commission, which will stipulate the tasks and responsibilities of the Registry as set out in the Regulation, including the public policy principles foreseen in Article 5(1), as well as the conditions according to which the Commission shall supervise the organisation, administration and management of the .eu TLD by the Registry and the conditions on the basis of which the Registry was selected. The contract will be limited in time and renewable. The initial contract shall be for a period of five years and could be renewed for two additional periods of five years.

If, at any point before the signature of the contract, contract negotiations are terminated because either the applicant them-selves withdraw, or because in the opinion of the Commission the conclusion of an appropriate contract is not possible, the reasons to terminate the contract negotiations will be duly and promptly notified to the other party. If at any stage in the selection process and before the signature of the contract such an eventuality does occur, the Commission reserves the right to open negotiations with another applicant which has submitted an eligible expression of interest and has fulfilled the selection criteria.

Following signature of the contract by the Registry and the Commission, the Commission will communicate its decision on the selection of an .eu ccTLD Registry operator to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and request, as appropriate, ICANN to ensure the delegation of the .eu ccTLD to the designated organisation subject to the appropriate procedure for ccTLD delegation.

The Regulation also provides that the Registry will be subject to public policy rules concerning the operation of the .eu TLD, which were adopted by the Commission after having consulted the Member States and the Registry. These rules address the need to prevent speculative and abusive registration of domain names, provide for a policy on the possible revocation of domain names (including the question of bona vacantia), issues of language and geographical concepts, a policy for the treatment of intellectual property and other rights, and provide a policy on the extra-judicial settlement of conflicts policy.

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