News


CENTR Jamboree 2024 – call for proposals
The CENTR Jamboree 2024 is all set to take place in the beautiful city of Copenhagen from May 29th to 31st, and you are invited to be a part of it!


EU Policy Update – November 2023
In a nutshell: The European Parliament urged the European Commission to reform EU administrative law and digitalisation. The Council of the EU adopted a set of recommendations on enabling factors for digital education, endorsed the agreement on the proposal for a Regulation on geographical indication protection for agricultural products, and agreed on a common position on targeted amendments to the Cybersecurity Act. The European Commission published an implementing regulation for transparency reporting under the Digital Services Act. The NIS Cooperation Group published guidelines on coordinated vulnerability disclosure. The co-legislators reached an agreement on a number of legislative proposals, including the European digital identity regulation and Cyber Resilience Act. The Data Act was adopted.

Reflecting on a Year of Progress: CENTR Chair's Report
As we approach the end of another eventful year, it's time to reflect on the journey we've undertaken as part of the CENTR community. In this Chair's Report, I'll dive into the highlights and key takeaways from our 2023 activities and discussions. Despite facing challenges, we've made significant progress towards shaping the future of CENTR and strengthening our partnerships.



CENTR Report on IETF118
The 118th IETF meeting took place in Prague between 4 and 10 November 2023, with more than 176 sessions, a 2-day hackathon and various side events. Marco Davids from SIDN Labs attended the meeting and has written a summary of the main points of relevance for CENTR members.


Paving the path towards the internet of the future: why should EU policymakers care about existing internet infrastructure?
While the EU is setting priorities for the development of the internet of the future and Web 4.0, the European internet infrastructure providers, such as country-code top level domain registries (ccTLDs) such as .fr for France and .ee for Estonia, continue delivering a stable and reliable service to keep the internet up and running. While we are picturing the effects of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and immersive realities on the user experience online, it is easy to overlook the critical role of the foundational pieces of the internet infrastructure, such as the Domain Name System (DNS), that allowed the internet to scale and develop through many stages of its over 40 year old history. Ahead of the EU elections 2024, and looking back at the legislative attention that the DNS has received in the recent years in the EU, European ccTLDs suggest concrete principles that in our experience will help deliver the internet of the future that remains open, interoperable, and human-centric.


Towards a Stronger Internet: CENTR Principles for the Next Digital Decade
On November 14th, during the 2023 Annual CENTR Meeting (GA70), CENTR members adopted "Towards a Stronger Internet, Principles for the Next Digital Decade". In the context of the 2024 EU elections and the new mandate of European policymakers taking office, CENTR's Principles outline the European ccTLDs' proposed approach to safeguarding Europe’s digital future in the upcoming decade.


PRESS RELEASE: CENTR launches ‘Towards a Stronger Internet: Principles for the Next Digital Decade’, outlining vision for the internet’s future
Brussels, 15 November 2023 – CENTR, the association of European country code top-level domain registries (ccTLDs), such as .be for Belgium and .it for Italy, launches ‘Towards a Stronger Internet: Principles for the Next Digital Decade’, following its general meeting on 14 November 2023. The Principles outline the European ccTLDs' proposed approach to safeguarding Europe’s digital future in the upcoming decade, particularly in the context of the 2024 EU elections and potential shifts in strategic focus during the next legislative mandate.


EU Policy Update – October 2023
In a nutshell: The European Commission adopted its Work Programme for 2024, is planning to reform the EU telecom law and boosting investments into connectivity infrastructure, and issued a recommendation on coordinating incident response for the dissemination of illegal content. The EU formally approved the Regulation on geographical indication protection for craft and industrial products. The EU co-legislators reached a deal on the proposal for a Regulation on geographical indication protection for agricultural products. ENISA published its threat landscape report for 2023. The European Court of Auditors issued an opinion on the Cyber Solidarity Act. JURI issued a Draft Report on policy implications of virtual worlds.


ICANN 78: DNS Abuse discussions take front stage
Only a few years ago, it would have been hard to imagine an ICANN meeting agenda where the topic of DNS Abuse was so omnipresent. However, in Hamburg, not only the ccNSO and the gNSO, but also the GAC spent time on this topic which was until recently ‘off limits’ for ICANN. These discussions will have major ramifications, not only for the DNS industry, but also for the broader Internet Governance discussions.


ICANN78: Registration Data Policy — a sense of urgency
The ICANN community is in the middle of implementing its EPDP Phase 1 recommendations, culminating in a Registration Data Policy that is supposed to take into account the effects of the EU GDPR on the collection and disclosure of domain name registration data. The Registration Data Policy is an ICANN-community consensus policy that once implemented will be applicable for all gTLDs and ICANN-accredited registrars. Its estimated date of effect is 11 February 2025. However, its publication has been put on hold due to the letters to the ICANN Board from the Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC) and Registrars Stakeholder Group (RrSG) concerning the “urgent requests” response timelines outlined in the draft policy. In addition, the response timelines are also criticised by the ICANN Security and Stability Advisory Committee (SSAC).