The European Union needs to foster a sense of patriotism and ownership among its citizens if it is to survive, former taoiseach and EU ambassador to Washington John Bruton has said.

Speaking in the European Parliament in Brussels yesterday evening at the launch of his book Faith in Politics, Mr Bruton said the EU needed to define its values and articulate what it stood for.

Fragile project

“The European Union is a deeply fragile project. As well as being ambitious, as well as being brave, it is fragile, it can fall apart,” he said, citing the forthcoming referendum on Britain’s EU membership. He said that while the union was facing numerous crises, it remained one of the most successful political projects in history.

“It’s the greatest achievement in 20th century statesmanship. It’s the first voluntary coming together of countries, first six, eventually 28 . . . There is nothing to parallel it.”

Mr Bruton said his experience in the United States had opened his eyes to the prevalence and power of American patriotism: “American patriotism isn’t an accident. American patriotism is a social construction.”

Highlighting the challenge of the refugee crisis, Mr Bruton said it was incumbent on Europe to integrate new arrivals.