Mr. Erkki Liikanen Dear Commissioner Liikanen - Thank you for your formal request of July 6 concerning the creation of an Internet top level domain for the European Union. At our recent meeting in Yokohama, a number of the ICANN Directors had an opportunity to discuss your letter and to begin to address the policy issues related to consideration of a .eu TLD registry. For many reasons, past and present, the delegation of top level domains having a geographic component to their definition is a sensitive matter. The Board strongly agrees with the views of Jon Postel, the creator of IANA, that it is not the IANA's role to determine what is a country. At the same time, the Board understands and supports the need for flexibility in adapting the Domain Name System to the needs of the Internet community. Since the .eu code does not currently appear in the ISO 3166-1 table which is referenced in the ICANN ICP-1 policy document on country code delegations, the creation of .eu would appear likely to require a policy action by the ICANN Board. The Board has asked the staff to review this issue in anticipation of a Board discussion as soon as possible, and in any event by the end of September. Following the Board's review, a decision will be made on the next steps in a policy process intended to consider the delegation of .eu in a manner consistent with the full range of ICANN policies on the delegation and administration of top level domains. We also take note in this regard of the Commission's exchange with the ISO 3166 Maintenance Agency, which is mentioned in your letter to me. The ICANN staff will continue to work with Commission staff on this matter, and I have been in touch with Mr. Wilkinson in that regard. I wish to assure you on behalf of the Board that your request for a .eu registry is a high priority for us and that it will receive early attention. Sincerely,
Michael M. Roberts
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