Strategic Foresight and EU Competition Law

Abstract

Competition law and policy want to ensure the long-term competitiveness of markets 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 EU competition law, we sketch areas of competition law that could benefit from incorporating strategic foresight, while also setting out the challenges such as the standard of proof, legal certainty and resource limitations.

Keywords: EU competition law, merger control, new tools, priority-setting, remedies, standard of proof, strategic foresight

JEL Classification: K21, K38, K32, L40, Q01