Since its creation in the mid-20th century, the European Union has developed a single market through a standardised system of laws which apply in all member states.
Of the EU's seven governance institutions, the RIPE NCC deals mostly with the European Commission (EC), the executive body that proposes and enforces legislation, and the European Parliament, which passes that legislation.
The RIPE NCC engages with the EU in those areas where its legislation or initiatives intersect with the interests or priorities of the RIPE NCC and the RIPE community. This has included areas such as IPv6 adoption, data retention laws, online criminal activity and privacy concerns. Many of these issues are dealt with under the Information Society EU policy area.
The EU also has a Digital Agenda for Europe, an overall strategy outlining policies and actions relating to the digital economy from 2010-2020. The strategy includes an annual Digital Assembly, bringing together stakeholders to assess progress and emerging challenges.
As part of the Digital Agenda for Europe, and its predecessor, i2010, the European Union has taken a pro-active position on the deployment of IPv6 on networks in Europe.
Following the publication of its Action Plan for the Deployment of Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) in Europe in 2008, the European Commission organised a series of IPv6-related workshops, conferences and events, in which the RIPE NCC actively participated.
A two-year IPv6 Deployment Monitoring Survey was launched in 2009, funded by the European Commission and conducted by TNO and GNKS, with the support and input of the RIPE NCC.
The results of the two surveys were presented to the RIPE community at RIPE 59 and RIPE 61:
* The 2011 Global IPv6 Deployment Monitoring Survey and 2012 Global IPv6 Deployment Survey were conducted by GNKS Consult, with the support of the five RIRs. The EU is no longer a contributor to the project.
The European Union has also provided funding for a number of other IPv6-related studies: