EU chief executive: no post-Brexit deal without 'level playing field'

FILE PHOTO: The President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen holds a news conference on the European Union response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis at the EU headquarters in Brussels, April 15, 2020. John Thys/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's chief executive, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday that the bloc will do its best to seal an agreement on new ties with Britain by the end of the year but will not compromise its core values, notably on fair competition.

Britain left the EU, the world's largest trading bloc, on Jan. 31 after 47 years of membership, to the huge regret of the EU, and there has been little progress on designing a new relationship with a year-end deadline looming.