As country after country in the European Union is called to respond to the current challenge ofour time—high inflation and declining real wages—governments must engage in atransformative agenda and go beyond emergency energy vouchers and income support cashtransfers.And if the goal is to lead the way to a resilient and sustainable European Union,business as usual will not do. The share of wages to GDP has been declining since the late 1970s,deregulation of labor markets has increased insecurity and precariousness, and, among ordinaryworking people, a sense of uncertainty, disenfranchisement, and mistrust in governinginstitutions is prevalent. A thorough re-evaluation of policies is needed. In response to thedeterioration of living standards, a guarantee of minimum wages adequate to secure a decentliving standard should be a starting point; a permanent policy of automatic adjustment of wagesto inflation rates in all member states should be promoted; and strengthening collectivebargaining agreements ought to be re-invigorated for a fair sharing of productivity betweenwages and profits. An EU Job Guarantee should be at the center of this policy transformation.This bold agenda, advocated in this paper, can mobilize people to regain trust that a Social Europe is possible.