This whole "Europe" practice of lumping all what, 37 countries? in Europe into one big nebulous cowardly entity is getting on my nerves.
Yes, France and Germany suck (or, at the very least, their political leadership does). Yes, the UK has idiotic crime laws.
Yes, many of the Western EU members are heavily socialized nanny-states.
But when we say "Europe is nothing but a bunch of hoplophobic weasels" we are including, for example, Switzerland - one of the most free and prosperous countries on Earth, and the various former Warsaw Pact nations (Poland and the Czech Republic, especially).
And despite their flaws (America-hating leadership in some, short-sightedness for others, Socialist nanny-states for others) Europe is still a much better place than most on Earth (this country excepted), and most of the nations there remain stalwart allies of ours.
Let us not make the mistake of judging the silent many for the mistakes of the loud few.
(all that said, I do enjoy a good round of Euro-bashing from time to time. I just think that people who would bash "Europe" should pause a moment to consider what "Europe" really is - a geographical boundary enclosing a large number of very diverse nation-states)