As far as I know, the .eu registration rules have changed three times since Brexit, and each time the European Registry of Internet Domain Names has applied different standards to existing registrations. To be precise, my situation:
- Registered three .eu domains in 2019 with a UK business entity
- 2021: required EU citizenship or residency, my domains marked "suspended"
- 2022: brief grace period for UK entities with EU trademark
- 2023: retrospective audit cancelled some restorations without clear notification
- Current status: one domain active via Irish subsidiary, two in limbo
The moving target is not the rule itself but the enforcement mechanism. As far as I know, no central database exists to check which UK registrations were purged versus grandfathered. The GDPR angle is relevant here: my own domains' historical WHOIS data is redacted, making it impossible to prove prior lawful registration to the registry without their cooperation, which has been minimal.
I am documenting this partly to vent, partly because I believe the lack of transparent process violates principles of administrative clarity, if not specific GDPR provisions on data subject access.
