"The EU is very committed, totally committed, to reaching an agreement that fully respects the conditions that we have put forward," Commission spokeswoman Pia Ahrenkilde Hansen told a regular briefing ahead of a meeting on the issue.

"We have an objective that is very firm and very clear to reach and to work towards reaching a global agreement," she said.

The Commission has looked to the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Administration ICAO.L to come up with a global approach to curbing emissions from airlines.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and EU Climate Commissioner Connie Hedegaard will meet top ICAO officials on Thursday for talks on the issue.

"That means the ETS is there, as it stands and there is no suspension of this agreement and there should be no action or retaliation against EU carriers," Ahrenkilde Hansen said.

EU law requires all airlines flying into or out of Europe to offset their carbon emissions through the Emissions Trading Scheme ETS.L. But the law has provoked an outcry by airlines in China, India and the United States, and some threats of retaliation or even trade war.

The European Union only came up with its carbon law because years of talks at ICAO had failed to deliver a solution for aviation emissions. But Hedegaard has said she stands by the ICAO as the way out of the current dispute. (Reporting by Robin Emmott and Rex Merrifield)

• A Permanent Economic Emergency