- RIPE responds to Montenegro’s ARKEP, which challenged the registry’s decision-making process on IP allocation.
- The group says its actions follow global norms and highlights the risks of national interference in IP management.
What happened: RIPE responds to Montenegro over ME-Net IP resource removal
RIPE is the regional internet registry that covers Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. It answered a letter from Montenegro’s Agency for Electronic Communications and Postal Services (ARKEP) which asked why RIPE removed IP address space from ME-Net, a local operator in Montenegro. ARKEP contacted RIPE in May 2024 after the decision. RIPE said ME-Net had broken its agreement. RIPE said it followed the rules made by its community and not by any government. It said it told ME-Net and ARKEP many times before the removal happened. RIPE also said that national regulators do not have the power to decide on IP resources. RIPE said it works under rules made by the global internet community. It said this keeps the system fair and the same for all users. It said it does not take orders from any country. It said its process is open and based on input from many members. It said this is how it keeps trust in the way the internet is managed.
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Why this is important
RIPE said that if national bodies try to take control of IP resources it could break the system. It said it would cause problems and confusion. The same thing already happened in other parts of the world. In Africa, AFRINIC faced court cases and long delays when local companies and governments tried to take over IP address space. In Latin America, LACNIC also had to deal with outside pressure. These cases made it harder to do the job and added risk to the whole internet. RIPE said it does not want this to happen in its region. It said its job is to manage resources fairly for all members, not to follow laws that go against global rules. Some network operators agree with this. They said RIPE must stay neutral. They said if countries control the process, the internet will become harder to manage and less stable.
