Efforts are being made to assemble an Irish-led consortium to bid for the operation of the proposed European Union top-level domain (TLD) registry.
In a pre-emptive move, the IE Domain Registry (IEDR) and its chief executive, Mr Michael Fagan, have been working on the formation of a consortium that would run the proposed central registry from an Irish base.
The registry would control who uses the .eu domain registration. A domain registry can be used as a website or as part of an e-mail address.
Although it is not a certainty that the proposed registry will be set up, Mr Fagan told The Irish Times that making plans now would put the consortium in a strong position if the proposal does go ahead.
The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers are due to consider and vote on a concrete proposal for an .eu domain registry within the next two months. If approved, the European Commission will invite tenders to operate the central registry. The registry will not carry out registrations but will accredit registrars who will offer registration services on a competitive, commercial basis in the different markets and environments throughout the EU.
Mr Cormac Callanan, chairman of the Internet Service Provider's Association of Ireland and a member of an interim steering group that examined the .eu proposal, said that having the registry established here would be a "significant event for Ireland".
Although Mr Fagan would not disclose the names of the parties involved in the consortium, he did say it would include two large Internet service providers (ISPs) in Spain and Norway, and a significant Internet company in the UK. He added that the consortium would be "very interested" to hear from a significant Irish player to represent commercial interests here.
Mr Fagan believes the Commission is likely to want any such consortium to include some financially secure ISPs and one national registry, and that it would be a non-profit organisation. The IEDR is a non-profit organisation.
However, he stressed that the proposed registry would have little or no political or administrative connection to the IEDR, if established in the Republic.
Mr Fagan said he believes the Republic has a strong case to be the location for the proposed new registry. However, industry sources say that the French are apparently very keen to see a .eu domain registry set up in France and are also lobbying hard.
The idea of a new .eu TLD has been circulating since early last year, when the European Commission organised a public consultation and subsequent report on the issue. There has been much support for a .eu TLD, not least because it would provide a new visability to European business and e-commerce, as well as creating much needed TLD space.
Speaking in Dublin yesterday, Mr Erkki Liikanen, the EU Commissioner for the Information Society, said he hoped the .eu domain proposal would be approved before the summer so that the Commission could set about choosing an organisation to run the domain.
He rejected the suggestion that the .eu TLD might undermine other domains, such as .ie. "I'm sure the other country domains will be important but this is for organisations that are European in their character."
However, if any objections are raised or amendments requested by political parties when the proposal is debated in the European Parliament next month, this could delay approval by up to 18 months.
There is also the issue of approval from ICANN, the international body which oversees Internet domain names. So far, it has refused to issue a .eu TLD on the grounds that the EU is not a specific country and therefore cannot register .eu as a country code TLD.
