You would think that such a major event - the approval of a new TLD (.eu) and the recognition of a new political entity - would have been done in the light of day. But no, as is typical the news sort of oozed out - and oozed not out of ICANN which so far has no notice of the decision on its web site, but rather out of the .eu folks.
ICANN, "staff" probably suddenly slopped the question onto a plate, put it in front of the board as a last-minute surprise agenda item, and the board probably dutifully came to attention, saluted, and swallowed.
Was .eu deserved? Perhaps. Was the board debate, if it even occurred, visible to the public? No.
Now that many European countries, members of .eu, now have two ccTLDs to work under will other federations of states be given the same ability to have ccTLDs for both the member states and the umbrella entity?
For example, will the states of the United States or the provinces of Canada, states which do retain a great deal of self-sovereignty, be able to obtain their own ccTLDs?
Certainly it makes sense for California to obtain its own ccTLD - California being larger in space and economic power than many of the member states of the .eu. And California, being a blue state, is most clearly quite separate and apart from the rest of the federal entity called the United States.
Or alternatively will the nations that are members of .eu now relinquish their ccTLDs or sell them on e-Bay?
In any case, I welcome .eu to the community of 'e' TLDs - .edu, .ewe,. .ec, .ee, .eg. .eh, .er, .es, .et, and now .eu
Posted by karl at March 22, 2005 11:17 AM