Competition law wants
to protect competition in the long term to the ultimate benefit of consumers.
This requires thinking about and shaping the markets of tomorrow. Strategic
foresight represents a powerful tool at the disposal of competition authorities
that need to engage in prospective analyses, set priorities in line with their
long-term strategic goals and devise pertinent soft law guidance for future
enforcement. But what is strategic foresight? What are its limits, and how
could it be incorporated into competition law and policy? In this primer on
strategic foresight and European Union (EU) competition law, we sketch areas of
competition law that could benefit from incorporating strategic foresight,
while also setting out the related challenges, including satisfying the
standard of proof and allocating limited resources.