The European Union has proposed new rules that would require firms including energy providers, banks and hospitals to report cyber-break-ins.

While EU digital agenda commissioner Neelie Kroes said Europe must improve how it deals with cybersecurity, many companies expressed concern having to report online attacks and security breaches might damage their reputations.

Under the proposals, each EU member country would be required to create a Computer Emergency Response Team and set up a national authority to receive reports of breaches from companies, the BBC reported Thursday.

Those authorities would have the power to decide whether to make those breaches public and whether companies could be fined for security lapses.

Just one in four European companies has a regularly reviewed, formal cybersecurity policy, an EU report said.

"Europe needs resilient networks and systems and failing to act would impose significant costs on consumers, businesses and society," Kroes said.