Actually most Norwegians are armed because of hunting and sport shooting not for personal protection. It is is part of the national defense plan. You can even own silencers (its the neighborly thing to do) and buy any caliber semi auto you want. Every year you have to pass a proficiency test to keep your license.
Understand that a very few of the europeans “can” be armed so there is a possible line of defense. In general though there is not an abundance of firearms available to the general public as compared to the US. They few who do own firearms see much more “progressive” laws concerning suppressors than here. I guess the thought of suppressed weapons here just means the shot locators would be less effective in the cities that have them. You are correct. It would be neighborly to have ready, easy, unrestricted access to them rather than dealing with the NFA restrictions. I think someone is working on getting them removed from the restriction currently in place.