MOSCOW, September 1 – RIA Novosti. At the end of the ‘lure of European generosity’, the eurozone may disintegrate when rich countries meet the needs of the poor, said Associate Professor Vladimir Grigoriev from the Institute of World Economy and Business, Russian People’s Friendship University, to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The expert emphasized that under a moderate fragmentation scenario, the states forming its core will remain in the eurozone: Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands and France. The difficult scenario, according to Grigoriev, means the complete restoration of the national economic sovereignty of countries.

The expert reminded that the European Union adheres to the “cohesion” policy when the rich donor countries financially support the poor recipient countries.

Grigoriev emphasized that with the emergence of economic and energy crises in the region, such a policy was gradually curtailed.

“Now this bliss is over: the generosity of the core countries of the European Union, which was appropriate during the years of economic growth, is now being replaced by the hard pragmatism and austerity policies that are even more appropriate now, in an age of first intensifying crisis. “With the coronavirus pandemic and now the reverse effect of anti-Russian sanctions,” he said.