Britain’s negotiator in Brussels as London frees up cash for ‘no-deal’

Britain’s new chief Brexit negotiator, David Frost, has met with senior EU officials during a trip to Brussels, an EU Commission official confirmed.
Spokeswoman for the European Commission Mina Andreeva made this known on Thursday.
Frost met with acting commission general secretary Ilze Juhansone and EU Brexit negotiator Stephanie Riso briefly on Wednesday, as well as Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker’s head of cabinet, Clara Martinez Alberola, on Thursday, the spokeswoman added.
Both sides said they had reiterated their existing positions and looked forward to further contact.
Brexit hardliner Boris Johnson, a vocal critic of the withdrawal agreement Britain struck with the European Union under his predecessor Theresa May, took office as prime minister last week.
Johnson wants the EU to reopen negotiations on the withdrawal agreement, but the EU insists this option is not on the table.
The British premier says he will leave the bloc without a deal if no agreement can be found.
Andreeva said that at the latest, Juncker and Johnson were to meet at the G7 Biarritz summit in France from Aug. 24 to Aug. 26.
Britain is making available 2.1 billion pounds (2.3 billion euros) to prepare for the possibility of exiting the EU without a deal, in a move that was sharply criticized by the opposition on Thursday.
“With 92 days until the UK leaves the European Union it’s vital that we intensify our planning to ensure we are ready,” Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid said in announcing the funds late on Wednesday.
The additional funds will ensure that Britain is ready to exit on Oct. 31, “deal or no deal,” Javid said.
It includes resources for borders and customs security, ensuring medical supplies, supporting businesses and improving communication with the public.
John McDonnell, Britain’s shadow chancellor for the Labour Party, called the funds “an appalling waste of taxpayers’ cash” being dedicated to a “totally avoidable” no-deal Brexit.
Half the funding is being provided immediately and the other half allocated to departments upon request in the coming months.
The Treasury noted the money comes on top of 4.2 billion pounds already being spent to prepare for various Brexit scenarios.
Johnson’s key demand for renegotiating May’s deal is a removal of the so-called backstop, an insurance measure to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit takes place.
The EU has so far held firm that dropping the backstop is not an option.
“We want to get a good deal that abolishes the anti-democratic backstop. But if we can’t get a good deal, we’ll have to leave without one,” Javid said.