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In this paper we review part of the free movement jurisprudence of the Court through the lens of a law and economics analysis, with a view to considering how far it discloses a coherent approach to the question of regulatory competition. We take as a starting point the premise that the EC rules on freedom of movement for goods and persons show some signs of converging around a principle of "market access". We then examine the relationship between the proposed market access principle and the concept of regulatory competition. We argue that a move to market access would be helpful in clarifying the issues at stake over regulatory competition but argue that there is a risk that an unqualified market access principle might not achieve the benefits which regulatory competition is meant to bring about. We then examine between regulatory competition with other areas of EC policy making, including harmonising Directives and other forms of policy intervention such as the open method of coordination (OMC).