In this paper we point out a gap in the EU 2020 strategy to deliver growth that is smart, through more effective investments in education, research and innovation. The gap in the strategy is that in addition to investing in its own R&D, the EU must take advantage of knowledge created in the rest of the world. Even if EU is a major generator of new knowledge and will become even more so when the strategy is implemented, more new knowledge is (and will be) generated outside than inside the EU. New knowledge developed in other parts of the world are not flowing immediately, automatically and without costs to the relevant actors within the EU. It is critical for the EU to develop efficient channels for the imports of knowledge from other parts of the world. We analyze EU’s capacity to absorb knowledge created in the other Triad nations (United States and Japan) through the following channels for international knowledge flows: academic knowledge channels, patents as a knowledge channel, technology trade, strategic R&D cooperation, trade networks, foreign direct investments, and high-skilled migration. The indicators show that there are certain types of knowledge channels that Europe must try to use much more extensively in order to become a leading knowledge economy.
