THE ideal of European unity differs radically from the "gloomy and regressive concept" pursued by the Provisional republican movement in Ireland, the Taoiseach said yesterday.
Mr Bruton said that Provisional republicanism, "in its pursuit of its nightmare version of unity", did not respect the rule of law. It killed people, for political ends and used force wherever and whenever it suited.
"Provisional republicanism, like the traditional version of unionism, does not recognise the possibility of multiple allegiances", he said. "Its territorial concept of unity allows one nation, one flag and one allegiance alone to be recognised on the unilaterally defined national territory."
Such an ideology was incapable of reconciling itself to the modern reality that, in time of mass transport and mass communications, people of different allegiances, cultures and nations will increasingly share the same territory.
However peace would come to "this island", but it must be genuine and not based on fear. History was "on the side of the peacemaker in Ireland", just as it was on the side of European unity.
Mr Bruton was accepting the European of the Year Award in Dublin yesterday.
"The trend of modern history requires an inclusivist ideal for a modern plural world", he added. "Exclusivist ideals, on the other hand, are on the wrong side of history. They had their day and reached their logical end in the tragedy of 1939."
Peace in Ireland had to be built on a model of society that allowed multiple allegiances and parity of respect. It should be a civil society and not an ethnic state.
The idea of European unity, was based on the key concepts of the rule of law and of multiple allegiances rather than on exclusive affiliation to a single nation, state or territory. "The building of European unity has been a peace process - in the true meaning of the term peace process. It has worked because force and the threat of force have been absent."
This process recognised that there could be two neighbours on the same road, one who considered himself to be simultaneously Catalan, Spanish and European, and the other who saw herself as simply Spanish and European.
Likewise, there could be two neighbours on another road, one of whom considered himself to be simultaneously British, Irish and European, and another who considered herself to be simply Irish and European. "We already accept this possibility of multiple allegiance in the different ways we select our national sports teams" the Taoiseach said.