EU ministers agreed on Tuesday to a mandatory system for national authorities to automatically exchange information on secret tax deals made with multinationals, a decision made in the wake of the LuxLeaks scandal.

"We have a political deal," said Pierre Gramegna, finance minister for Luxembourg, which holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.

Under the new plan, the bloc's 28 countries would share deals agreed with some of the world's biggest multinationals, in an effort to cut back on tax avoidance in Europe.