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Europe is an expanding collection of nations
with diverse experiences of and reactions to small arms violence.
However, recent years have seen a growing cohesiveness of policy
development at the European Union level, including steps toward
increased regulation of firearms within European nations and
tightened guidelines for the export of firearms outside the
Union.
In general, the sale and purchase of firearms
is strictly controlled in European countries (all have
a form of owner licensing and gun registration).
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Handguns are generally
restricted or, in the case of the United Kingdom, banned from
civilian ownership. Because of long-established hunting traditions
in many countries, rifles and shotguns are more widely available,
though they are also generally subject to regulation.
Levels of gun violence vary across Europe. In
a study of gun death rates in 36 of the world’s developed
nations, five European nations ranked among the highest: Estonia,
Northern Ireland, Finland, Switzerland and France. Others, such
as the Netherlands, England and Scotland have some of the lowest
rates in the industrialized world.
Europe is home to many of the world’s
top small arms producers, accounting for almost $3 billion in
sales in 2000, not including those operating in the Russian Federation.
Top European arms producing nations include Austria, Belgium,
France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
At the regional level, the European Union has
begun to address small arms by calling on members states to tighten
their arms export laws, increase cooperation among law enforcement
agencies, and provide financial and resource support to those
states most affected by small arms proliferation and misuse.
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