What is the EU?

The European Union started back in 1950 following a proposal by the (then) French Foreign Minister as a way of integrating the steel and coal industries of western Europe. Six countries signed the "Treaty of Paris" in 1951 and formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). These six countries were France, Belgium, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

So successful was this, more countries joined and the European Union (EU) grew and expanded into the body we know today. Currently, there are 28 member states and 19 countries have introduced the Euro (€) as their currency. The countries in the Eurozone (those whose currency is the Euro) are; Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

Useful Sites

On the left hand side of the page you will find links to some useful sites if you are looking for more information on the EU.

.eu - Europes' Domain Name

The European Union has its own domain name suffix - .eu. For a long time Europe had been left out in the cold on the internet front but on 7th December 2005 this is came to an end.

The launch of the .eu domain was divided into three phases. The first two phases were to protect intellectual property rights. The last phase (phase three) opened the .eu domain registry to everyone else.

Phase One - 7th December 2005

Phase One - the initial launch - began on 7th December 2005. During Phase One, only domain names which correspond to the following criteria could be applied for:

Registered community or national trademarks
The full name of a public body
The acronym by which a public body is commonly known
The territory which is governed by a public body

These domain names could be applied for by the Public Body or the trademark holder or licensee.

Phase Two - 7th February 2006

During Phase Two of the .eu domain launch, domains which met the following criteria could be applied for:

trade names
company names
business identifiers
unregistered trademarks
distinctive titles of protected literary and artistic work
the names listed in Phase One
other rights that are protected under the national law of the member state where they are held

Phase Three - 7th April 2006

When Phase Three started, the .eu registry opened its doors to normal registrations by everyone else. Anyone was be able to apply for a .eu domain name and Europeans were able to have their own domain name which uniquely identifies them as being from (and a part of) Europe.

If you are interested in registering a .eu domain name and acquiring your european identity, we recommend you try BB Online UK Ltd. BB Online are ICANN accredited and are also an accredited .eu registrar with over 13 years experience in international domain name registrations.