Is Europe becoming the most dynamic knowledge based economy in the world?

The article discusses the condition and perspective of the European Union in the knowledge economy and the feasibility of the goal given by the European Council at the summits held in Lisbon (March 2000) and Barcelona (March 2002), that is, to increase European R&D expenditure to 3 per cent of GDP by 2010. The article focuses on two aspects: comparative performance with its direct counterparts, in particular the USA; and intra-European distribution of resources and capabilities. A set of technological indicators is presented to show that Europe is still consistently behind when compared to Japan and the US, especially in R&D investment and the generation of innovations. A small convergence occurs in the diffusion of information and communication technologies (ICTs), the sector most directly linked to the concept of the‘new economy'. In the field of knowledge collaboration, Europe takes opposing paths in the business and academic worlds. Within Europe, the level of investment in scientific and technological activities is so diverse across countries that it does not merge into a single continental innovation system.