Brexit negotiations have entered the final stage and EU and UK representatives will now 'negotiate continuously' in a bid to reach a final deal.
The EU's chief Brexit negotiator today met with British Brexit secretary Dominic Raab.
In a statement following the meeting, Mr Barnier said it was necessary to 'de-dramatise' the situation around the Irish border - but insisted a 'legally operable' backstop was still needed.
On the subject of the backstop, he observed: "We must find pragmatic solutions, in line with the commitments made by Prime Minister May in December and March.
"We must de-dramatise the issue, and spell out which controls are needed, where, and how they should be done."
Mr Barnier and Mr Raab are now set to 'meet regularly' as the October deadline for a deal approaches.
Good meeting with @MichelBarnier. We discussed the outstanding separation issues, the NI backstop, our future economic partnership & security cooperation. We’ll be meeting again next week, at further length, as we look to resolve all the issues we need for a deal. https://t.co/K2l0wUuHLh
— Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) August 21, 2018
Mr Raab, meanwhile, said the latest discussions have been 'very useful' on all the major issues.
He observed: "We agreed we need to step up the intensity of the negotiations as we come into the final phase.
"There are still gaps - we've had an honest conversation about those."
He acknowledged there was work to do on Northern Ireland, "but also on the future relationship".
"It's important to view the whole deal as a package," he added.