The ministers agreed that the EU executive, the European Commission, should try to convince other countries to do the same, either in current trading schemes or as part of an envisaged global deal.

"The council (of ministers) requests the Commission to engage with third countries on the EU ETS to explore possibilities for such states to introduce equivalent measures," the ministers said in a statement.

"It requests the Commission to promote the application of these provisions, in particular in the framework of aviation agreements with third countries."

The EU hopes to finalise its climate package, but some member states are seeking significant changes that may delay its final approval. Airlines account for about 3 percent of global discharges of carbon dioxide (CO2), the main gas blamed for global warming.

The planned law covers internal and external flights to and from EU airports. It marks the first time the bloc is capping transport emissions and follows a doubling of airline emissions in Europe over the past 20 years.

The EU is seeking to persuade the United States, the world's biggest greenhouse-gas emitter, as well as countries such as China and India, to negotiate a new global treaty against climate change after 2012. (Reporting by Marcin Grajewski, editing by Anthony Barker)