Compliance "to be mandatory"

Question

I want to ask a question about the function of the word "compliance".

I was writing a text regarding politics and wanted to mention whether if the United Kingdom left the EU whether some of the rules would still be followed after its departure.

I worded the phrase as follows:

It is still an issue additionally as to whether the compliance will be mandatory when the UK finalises its departure from the EU.

The entire text is as follows

The membership of the United Kingdom to the EU allows entitlement to the free market and compliance to EU law. It is still an issue additionally as to whether the compliance will be mandatory when the UK finalises its departure from the EU.

From what I recall, compliance is defined as "to agree to a rule" but in my sentence, I stated that compliance will be mandatory, yet I was unsure whether it is possible for a compliance to be mandatory in itself.

Is the phrasing of my sentence valid?

Answer 1

Thank you for such a quick response while I was still editing my comment. With the extra context supplied a fuller answer is now possible.

I suggest compliance is an inappropriate word in this context. The issue is whether, and, if so, how far, EU law will still apply to the UK after leaving the EU. Compliance relates to the different concept of how far, assuming that EU law applies, the UK would follow it.

As I read your expanded text, it is about applicability of rather than compliance with EU law. The UK traditions are that when a law applies it is complied with, but there are still open questions, in some minds, as to whether EU law should apply to domestic UK matters when the UK is no longer a member of the EU.

Answer 2

I do not think the phrasing of your first sentence is valid, because the UK's EU membership allows or facilitates the access to free market but requires or demands compliance to EU law. Your sentence can be contracted to "the membership [...] allows [...] compliance", and I think when you read that alone, you will see how it is incorrect.

As for the second sentence, I would agree with @JeremyC that strictly speaking, perhaps you cannot comply with laws which no longer apply. It may be better to consider a phrasing such as "it is still an issue as to how far the UK will conform to EU law..."?