There should be little or no doubt the European Union has reached a stage where it either changes its ways and attitude to the reality of thousands of lives of its everyday working-class citizens, or stay put and be damned. The choice is as simple as it can be confounding, given the paradoxical nature of the Union and its ideological make-up.

The May Euro elections should, however, give us a very clear indication of what the people in all of the 28 member states think should be done to stop the rot and finally begin a new chapter where the concern is for the hard-working individual and the efficiency of bona fide employment sources, and not for the prejudices and obsolete standpoints of yesteryear. This is hopefully the message that is to be sent by the European electorate.

The Socialist and Democratic Group in the European Parliament (S&D) has been quick to acknowledge this reality, quick enough in fact to have embarked on a fast and furious campaign aimed at making it clear there IS an alternative to the harsh and insensitive austerity measures taken by several EU member states in recent years, ostensibly to absorb the backlash from an on-going economic and financial crisis brought on by the fat cats in the banking and financial sectors.

The S&D believes there can be no solution in adding more pressure on citizens and families already caught in the relentless grip of the economic crisis. Youth unemployment has continued to grow disproportionately, social welfare, particularly in the public health sector, has been crudely pruned, and formerly good employers have been reduced to insignificance.

This is a time for resolve. For a renewal of the spirit of European enterprise; for a return to the real European welfare state as a world model; for a reality check; for a new way to deal with the economic challenges that the eurozone as a whole has up to now failed to tackle in a convincing way.

There is no secret formula. The Socialist and Democratic Group is proposing the optimistic option of instigating economic growth and with it, the creation of new jobs and new opportunities rather than the stale and self-defeating process of austerity. It is doing so in a crystal-clear blueprint that should become its electoral manifesto in Rome later this week.

I can personally vouch for the enthusiasm and overwhelming belief in this roadmap. Invited by the Vice President of the European Parliament Gianni Pittella to Caserta last week, I attended a preparatory meeting of the S&D Group with our hosts and the new Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Partito Democratico, in readiness for this weekend Congress of European Socialists in Rome. In my short address to the meeting, I took the opportunity to also emphasise the need for a Euro-Mediterranean cohesion policy high on Europe’s political agenda in the coming years.

For a social Europe

The same resolve is needed to tackle other important issues. Besides the importance of an S&D-led European Commission, at the European Parliament, I have also raised the issue of domestic violence and the plight of many women in Europe, and the harsh realities of the jobs and social crisis so well reflected in the “Employment and Social Aspects in the Annual Growth Survey 2014” report.

There are 26.6 million unemployed persons in the European Union, 23% of whom are young men and women. At the same time, almost a quarter of Europe’s population is at risk of poverty and social exclusion. Certainly not heart-warming statistics these, but they undoubtedly form a major challenge that has to be tackled head-on by those who are elected to the European Parliament in May.

The S&D Group has thrown the gauntlet. It is now the citizens’ turn to take it up by voting for an end to the extreme austerity mentality and allow the beckoning of a better future through economic growth, new opportunities and the perusal of Europe’s oldest tool – innovation.

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Mr Cuschieri is head of the Labour delegation at the European Parliament