Again a topic of "European legistlation". Believe me, there is no such thing as common European legistlation, at least not yet, or in near future. The laws in European countries depend on national legistlation, European Union giving just the "minimum requirements" by directives that different EU contries should include to their national legistlations. The national laws should not be looser than those guidelines say, but they can be stricter. For example, according to EU permits must be required for gun ownership (but not for airguns). But EU does not prohibit handguns (as Britain has done), or semiauto rifles (Britain has done that also) or regulate how guns look (Germany has prohibited "military looking" rifles), or prohibit certain calibers (France has prohibited "military calibers", Denmark has prohibited handguns with bores larger than .38). Here in Finland OC, CS ect. sprays need permits, but for example in Germany they are free for everyone to buy, but we buy all kinds of semiauto rifle that the Germans cannot (or Americans, since we can still buy new guns with all "pre-ban" features).
Also, European regulations are not in every detail stricter than US regulations. For example I have heard no European country having high capacity mag ban (exept Britain prohibited guns that can use them), and in most of Europe silencers are legal, as well as mail order sales of guns when the buyer have got permit for that gun from local authorities.
All European countries are not members of the EU, and non-members like Switzerland can totally independently decide on laws without need to harminization. The Swiss reservists even get issue STG90 (Sig 550) assault rifles for home storage.
I have noticed some gun magazine writers use loose expressions like "European legistlation" when they know maybe about one or a few European countries. Some seem to think Britain is a typical European country in gun issues, and could not be more wrong. Britain is the most extreme example of European gun regulations, but in most of Europe gun ownership is legal, but regulated. All that is printed is not the whole truth, and sometimes not truth at all.
Ossi