LONDON Ñ The European Union has followed the lead of the United States in restricting entry from Arab and Islamic states.

Arab diplomatic sources said the restrictions have already been felt in Britain and Germany. Both have large Muslim populations.

"Europeans understand that those who carried out the September 11 attacks are a different breed of terrorists," Josef Joffe, a European analyst told the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. "If the staging post was Germany, the banking system for terror was based in Britain."

The sources said the restrictions have alarmed some North African countries, particularly Algeria and Tunisia. These countries regard immigration to Europe as a means to relieve internal pressure and economic hardship.

"Migration has become a social issue," Arab League assistant secretary-general Noureddine Hached told a conference in Tunis last week.

Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali agreed. He said Arab immigration is "a factor of stability and cooperation on both shores of the Mediterranean." He told the conference that he hoped the Sept. 11 suicide attacks on New York and Washington would not curtail the movement of Arabs to Europe.

About 2.35 million North African immigrants come from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia. The largest North African community is in France.

Earlier this year, the European Union signed association agreements with several Middle East nations. They included Israel, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority and Tunisia. The agreement included cooperation in battling illegal immigration.

Jordan has criticized the visa restrictions imposed in the United States against Arab and Islamic applicants. Officials said the restrictions would affect all Arabs.

"If there was a small group which has committed crimes against the United States, this does not mean that all Arabs are criminals," Jordanian government spokesman Saleh Qallab said. "It is risky that the United States would appear Ñ particularly at this critical time Ñ as if it is putting all Arabs in the position of suspicion and accusation."

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