The Challenges of EU Regulation Updates
The current Regulation (EU) 2018/848 has been updated 67 times since its publication in 2018.
It makes it difficult to follow up, but there are some clues that help find the data we need and not to get confused by following guidelines that may be out of date:
Many of these updates correspond to changes on the lists of approved certification bodies in third countries, certifying according to the EU Regulation. Any CB added or deleted in any country or in the scope of their recognition, means a new regulation.
From time to time, a consolidated version of the Regulation (EU) 2018/848 is published; this is not an official version, but it is very useful anyway. The last consolidated version is from March the 25th, 2025.
However, not all the changes and additions are included in this consolidated version. Only those amendments or corrections affected by the Delegated Regulations are included.
The Implementing Regulations must be consulted separately.
Implementing and Delegated Regulations:
Changes and additions to the legislation on organic production may be adopted through Delegated Acts or Implementing Acts. The Delegated ones are adopted directly by the European Commission without the direct involvement of the Committee on Organic Farming, which represents the Member States. A two-month period is allowed for comments from the European Parliament or the Council of Europe; if none are received, the measure is published. The Implementing Regulations are adopted with the formal participation of the Committee on Organic Farming and without the European Parliament having the right of veto.
The Implementing Regulations generally relate to more practical aspects of the application of the Regulation, such as the retroactive recognition of conversion periods, rules for the application of controls, or authorised inputs.
The most important of the Regulations added to the legislation on organic production: EU Implementing Regulation 2021/1165, of July 2021; which lists the inputs permitted in organic production for all types of agricultural or agri-food activity, such as: active substances for use in plant protection products; fertilisers, soil conditioners and nutrients; food additives and processing, among others.
The Regulation 2021/1165 has a consolidated version published on January the 1st , 2026 that includes all the changes related to inputs produced during these years after the publication of this regulation.
The best way to navigate the legislation governing organic production in the EU is to have in hand the most up-to-date versions of Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and also of the Inputs Regulation (EU) 2021/1165. Additionally, it is useful to have a list of all the regulations amending the original that have been published. So, if we see that there are some issues that concern us and that are not included in these consolidated versions, we can consult them directly.
https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/organic-farming/legislation_en
Nuria Alonso
TOS Commissioning Editor