LONDON, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is ready to develop a new partnership unprecedented in scope with Britain, but it can never be the same as before after Brexit, visiting European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen said here Wednesday.
In a keynote speech at the London School of Economics (LSE), Von der Leyen, who spent a year studying here, said Jan. 31 will be a tough and emotional day when Britain finally ends its membership of the union.
"The European Union is ready to negotiate a truly ambitious and comprehensive new partnership with the United Kingdom ... But the truth is that our partnership cannot and will not be the same as before. And it cannot and will not be as close as before," said the president.
"With every choice comes a consequence," she warned.
"Without free movement of people, you cannot have free movement of capital and services. And without a level playing field, the UK cannot have full access to the single market," she said.
The president pledged to design a new partnership with Britain featuring zero tarrifs, zero quotas and zero dumping, but she emphasized that "the EU will work for solutions that uphold the integrity of the EU, its single market and its Customs Union."
"There can be no compromise on this," she said, calling for more negotiating time.
"Without an extension of the transition period beyond 2020, you cannot expect to agree on every single aspect of our new partnership," she warned.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly insisted that he will not extend the transition period. Last month, the House of Commons gave his re-worked Brexit Bill a wide support, where he added a clause to rule out any extension beyond Dec.31, 2020.
Showing her optimism towards the future of EU-Britain relationship, the president said "there will be plenty of need for common responses to address foreign, security and development challenges near and far."
"The fact is that Brexit will not resolve any of the existing challenges for the EU nor the UK ... it will require intensive cooperation on our foreign and security policies," said the president.
"If there is one area where the world needs our leadership, it is on protecting our climate," she said. "No country can hope to handle climate change alone. But if it is the right thing to do -- and if we do it together, we can lead that change," she added.
The speech came hours before she was scheduled to meet Johnson at 10 Downing Street.
British lawmakers started a three-day Brexit debate Tuesday on their first House of Commons sitting of the new year. Opposition MPs tabled a long list of amendments to the bill, with a series of votes scheduled at Westminster over the coming days.
Johnson's commanding 80-strong majority in the 650-seat chamber meant the government is expected to comfortably defeat all amendments, ahead of the bill being handed over to the House of Lords.
