The internal market case law of the European Court of Justice often
invokes the term market access, and recently the notion has been given a
key role in defining the reach of the four freedoms of the TFE – free
movement of goods, persons, services, and capital. Unfortunately the
precise content of the term remains elusive. The use of the notion in
(European Union) competition law and WTO law does not provide reliable
guidance, due to the fundamentally different contexts. Further, it is
not clear what the normative justification for distinguishing formally
between access and exercise or direct and indirect effects is. The case
law also lacks coherence. In some decisions the Court indicates that the
impact on market access is the decisive criterion for the application
of free movement provisions, but in others it is prepared to find a
restriction or dismiss a case without even mentioning the term. In its
most recent rulings the Court has focused on the magnitude of the
effects of national measures (which erect barriers to entry), yet it has
consistently rejected arguments based on the minor or slight impact of
national rules. The article argues that, when pressed, the notion of
market access collapses into economic freedom or anti-protectionism, and
obscures the need to choose between the competing paradigms of free
movement law.