[Human cloning in the activities of the European Union].

The European Union has been concerned with human cloning since the late 80. It resulted from inclusion of biotechnology into the sphere of European integration. The attitude of the European Union in the domain of human cloning was shaped, in principle in the second part of the 90. As the Community law stands at present, the European Union is not able to regulate all aspects of the cloning of human beings. It has no general power to decide in that sphere, especially, as far as bioethic aspects are concerned. The cloning of human beings in the European Union is understood as a process aiming at producing new human being, genetically identical with another live or dead human being. Thus the notion of human cloning is reduced to reproductive cloning. Three instruments are at the disposal of the European Union in the domain of human cloning. The first is prohibition of reproductive cloning as a general principle of Community law. However, that principle is not the result of judicial activity of the European Court of Justice (as general principles normally are), but the logical consequence of views formally expressed by the European Parliament, the Council of the Europe as well as the Commission. The principle was finally included in the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union. The second instrument is an imperative prohibition of patent granting to biotechnological inventions on human reproductive cloning. Last, but not least, the Union applies a prohibition of financing scientific research connected with human cloning from the budget of the European Communities within the V Framework Programme in the field of research and technological development.