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This paper investigates whether the Lisbon objective regarding the level of the European R&D intensity can be fulfi|ted. It first explains why the R&D intensity varies significantly across country. The countries with the highest R&D intensity ratio satisfy at least one of the following criteria: i) a large and homogeneous domestic market; ii) a strong specialization in a high-tech sector; iii) a strong support for academic research; and iv) substantial government support (either subsidies or tax credit) to business R&D. Belgium is a laggard in each of these criteria. The optimal government support would correspond to about a 12 % subsidization rate and a doubling of academic research.