L 162/40 Official Journal of the European Union 30.4.2004 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 874/2004 of 28 April 2004 laying down public policy rules concerning the implementation and functions of the .eu Top Level Domain and the principles governing registration (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Regulation (EC) No 733/2002 of the Euro- pean Parliament and of the Council of 22 April 2002 on the implementation of the .eu Top Level Domain (!), and in par- ticular Article 5(1) thereof, Having consulted the Registry in accordance with Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 733/2002, Whereas: 1 The initial implementation stages of the .eu Top Level Domain (TLD), to be created pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 733/2002, have been completed by designating a legal entity, established within the Community to admin- ister and manage the .eu TLD Registry function. The Registry, designated by Commission Decision 2003375/ EC (3, is required to be a non-profit organisation that should operate and provide services on a cost covering basis and at an affordable price. Requesting a domain name should be possible through electronic means in a simple, speedy and efficient proce- dure, in all official languages of the Community, through accredited registrars. Accreditation of registrars should be carried out by the Registry following a procedure that ensures fair and open competition between Registrars. The accreditation process should be objective, transparent and non-discri- minatory. Only parties who meet certain basic technical requirements to be determined by the Registry should be eligible for accreditation. Registrars should only accept applications for the regis- tration of domain names filed after their accreditation and should forward them in the chronological order in which they were received. To ensure better protection of consumers' rights, and without prejudice to any Community rules concerning jurisdiction and applicable law, the applicable law in () OJ L 113, 30.4.2002, p. 1. () OJ L 128, 24.5.2003, p. 29. (10) disputes between registrars and registrants on matters concerning Community titles should be the law of one of the Member States. Registrars should require accurate contact information from their clients, such as full name, address of domicile, telephone number and electronic mail, as well as infor- mation concerning a natural or legal person responsible for the technical operation of the domain name. The Registry policy should promote the use of all the official languages of the Community. Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 733/2002, Member States may request that their official name and the name under which they are commonly known should not be registered directly under .eu TLD otherwise than by their national government. Countries that are expected to join the European Union later than May 2004 should be enabled to block their official names and the names under which they are commonly known, so that they can be registered at a later date. A Member State should be authorised to designate an operator that will register as a domain name its official name and the name under which it is commonly known. Similarly, the Commission should be authorised to select domain names for use by the institutions of the Community, and to designate the operator of those domain names. The Registry should be empowered to reserve a number of specified domain names for its operational functions. In accordance with Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 733/2002, a number of Member States have notified to the Commission and to other Member States a limited list of broadly-recognised names with regard to geogra- phical andfor geopolitical concepts which affect their political or territorial organisation. Such lists include names that could either not be registered or which could be registered only under the second level domain in accordance with the public policy rules. The names included in these lists are not subject to the first-come first-served principle.