Brussels Aug 22 (IANS) The European Union (EU) s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has said the bloc s Brexit negotiations with Britain are now entering the final stage.

Negotiations on the Brexit deal resumed on Tuesday after the summer break Xinhua news agency reported.

Discussions between Britain s Brexit minister Dominic Raab and Barnier have focused on three work streams including a backstop solution for avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland the other outstanding issues of the Withdrawal Agreement for instance the protection of existing Geographical Indications and the political declaration on the EU-Britain future relationship.

"The negotiations are now entering the final stage. We have agreed that the EU and the UK will negotiate continuously from now on " said Barnier in a statement.

"Our challenge for the coming weeks is to try and define an ambitious partnership between the UK and the EU. A partnership that has no precedent " he said.

He added this partnership has to respect the single market and the foundations of the European project.

--IANS pgh/