LONDON (AP) - President Bush's decision to fund experiments only on existing stem cell stocks maintained in laboratories didn't entirely please either supporters or opponents of stem cell research in Europe.

Reaction was mixed in Asia, where some countries are already going ahead with it while ethical concerns have prompted a more cautious approach in others.

Britain's Prolife Alliance, a splinter political party, said it was disappointed in Bush's decision "because the issues at stake here are about absolute respect for early human life, not about compromise."

Proponents of the research also considered Bush's announcement a compromise.

"He's made the most cautious thumbs-up to stem cell research that he possibly could. I'm sure Bush has agonized over this, but it's a bit of a non-decision in a way," said Juliet Tizzard, director of the Progress Education Trust, a London-based pro-research group that was involved in shepherding the approval for stem cell research through Parliament earlier this year.

Tizzard said the decision was a lost opportunity to move the field ahead more rapidly. The United States has the largest medical research budget in the world.

"It would have stepped things up massively," Tizzard said. "If you look at how well research went along on the Human Genome Project, that was incredible. They invested so much money in it and it really pushed the field ahead."

In Germany, opponents of the research welcomed Bush's decision.

"He has put the sharpest backers of experiments with human beings and on human beings in their place," said Joerg-Dietrich Hoppe, president of the main doctors' association. "Here's a clear block from the United States."

Hoppe said the decision also brought governments in Europe and the United States closer together on the issue.

The legal status of human embryo and stem cell research varies across Europe. Nine of the 15 European Union nations have legislation governing the issue.

Four countries - Austria, Germany, France and Ireland - ban all embryo research. France plans to change its law to open the possibility of stem cell research.

Spain and Finland allow embryo research under certain conditions. In Denmark, scientists may only conduct infertility research on embryos.

In Sweden, embryo research is allowed, and researchers may also create embryos for research if the project is approved by an ethics commission.

Britain has the most open laws on the issue. Scientists may conduct research on donated embryos, create new embryos for research and even make embryos for stem cell research by cloning.

To obtain embryonic stem cells, "master" cells that develop into every tissue or cell type in the body, scientists must destroy embryos. Bush's decision means that federal money cannot be used for research that involves the destruction of new embryos.

Vatican officials had no comment Friday on Bush's announcement. However, Pope John Paul II made it clear that he opposed stem cell research during a meeting with Bush on July 23 in which he urged Bush not to go ahead with it.

Italy's health minister, Girolamo Sirchia, said in an interview published in the Corriere della Sera newspapers that Bush's decision wasn't right for Italy.

"His reality is different from ours," Sirchia said in an interview done before Bush's announcement. "Half of Italians are against experimentation on embryos, so I don't see why we should go against the wishes of the majority of the country when other options exist."

John Smeaton, president and CEO of stem cell research company BresaGen, based in the southern Australian city of Adelaide, said he expected the stem cell field to move more swiftly now.

"There will be a much greater availability of brain power to press on into this area," said Smeaton, whose company has four stem cell lines eligible for funding.

In Asia, Nobuyuki Fukushima, deputy director at the bioindustry division of Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, said Bush's decision was in line with trends around the world.

"Japan is heading toward permitting this research, so we can't say that the decision by Bush is wrong," he said. But "the pros and cons must be debated rigorously."

Reaction was enthusiastic in South Korea, where researchers said the potential benefits outweighed the dangers.

In Singapore, where the government has set up a special panel to put together a "collective morality" on biotechnology, the addition of U.S. participation was seen as a boost to the research.