Current status: European Commission proposal — not adopted EU law

Current status

Legislative process

The EU KIDS Act is a European Commission proposal. It is not adopted EU law.

Official record checked 18 September 2026: the recorded stage remains Commission proposal. Parliament and Council have not adopted positions.

What has happened so far?

The Commission adopted and presented its proposed Regulation on 17 September 2026. On 18 September 2026, EUR-Lex recorded that event as the only completed procedural step. Its Parliament link did not yet resolve to a public dossier, and no Council procedure page or position was identified in the official record checked.

A Commission proposal starts the legislative process. It can be amended, agreed or rejected. The final text—if adopted—may differ materially from COM(2026) 681 final.

Procedure tracker

  1. Current recorded stage

    Commission proposal

    Adopted 17 September 2026. COM(2026) 681 final; procedure 2026/0286(COD).

  2. Future stage

    European Parliament consideration

    Parliament assigns the file to committees, develops amendments and may adopt a first-reading position. No position is recorded yet.

  3. Future stage

    Council consideration

    Member State governments examine the proposal in the Council and may agree a position. No Council position is recorded yet.

  4. Possible, not automatic

    Interinstitutional negotiations

    Parliament, Council and Commission may hold trilogues to seek common text. Negotiations and their timing are not certain.

  5. Future stage

    Formal adoption

    Parliament and Council must formally approve the same text before it becomes an EU legislative act.

  6. Future stage

    Official Journal publication

    The adopted act would be published in the Official Journal. This publication date starts the proposed entry-into-force calculation.

What Parliament and Council do

European Parliament

Members of the European Parliament scrutinise the proposal, normally through one or more committees before a plenary position. Parliament may amend the text and must ultimately approve the same final text as the Council.

Council of the European Union

National ministers legislate in the Council, supported by working parties and ambassadors. The Council may amend the proposal and must agree the same final text as Parliament.

Commission and trilogues

The Commission proposed the measure and participates in the process. Informal trilogue negotiations may be used to seek agreement, but a trilogue outcome is provisional until Parliament and Council complete formal adoption.

Five dates that should not be confused

Proposal date
17 September 2026: the Commission adopted COM(2026) 681 final. This is not the date the measure became law.
Adoption date
A future date on which Parliament and Council formally approve the same final act. No such date exists yet.
Publication date
A future Official Journal date after adoption. No such date exists yet.
Entry into force
Under draft Article 43, the twentieth day after Official Journal publication.
Date of application
The date from which rules are used in practice. Under draft Article 43, most provisions would apply six months after entry into force, with exceptions.

Differentiated application in the proposal

Article 43 proposes three relative schedules:

  • Article 5: from entry into force;
  • most provisions: six months after entry into force;
  • Articles 33 and 35: 12 months after entry into force.

These are not calendar dates. They cannot be converted reliably until a final act is adopted, published and confirmed to retain those rules. The proposal also contains obligation-specific periods, such as Article 6(4)’s six-month period after general application for assessing existing accounts.

How this page will be updated

The tracker records only official completed stages. Future Parliament committee work, Council positions, provisional agreement, formal adoption and publication will be added only when supported by institutional records. Historical proposal documents will remain identified as Commission proposal versions.

The documents and sources library will collect official procedural materials as they appear. The full proposal route remains reserved for a faithful HTML edition of the 17 September Commission text.

Official status sources

Records checked 18 September 2026

EUR-Lex procedure 2026/0286(COD)

Recorded Commission adoption on 17 September 2026 as the only completed procedural event when checked.

Commission proposal, COM(2026) 681 final

The proposal text, including Article 43’s relative entry-into-force and application provisions.

European Commission proposal package

Official package page for the proposal and accompanying documents.