The country that for decades was a byword for an open society has just enacted exactly what it used to condemn in others. Sweden's parliament passed laws that sharply tighten measures against immigrants - among them a controversial provision that critics immediately dubbed the „snitch law."

The first, called the „good conduct" law, lets authorities revoke residence permits on the basis of vague criteria. The offenses are not precisely defined - they can cover unpaid debts, tax evasion, crime, or extremist ties. It applies not only to future applicants, but retroactively, to those already living in the country. „Those who don't behave as they should cannot count on staying," said migration minister Johan Forssell.

The second, the „snitch law," squeaked through - by 174 votes to 172. It obliges officials in the tax office, the employment agency, and social security to report people suspected of lacking documents. Teachers, doctors, and social workers are exempt - for now. Amnesty International warns that permits will be denied „on the basis of conduct that is neither illegal nor punishable for Swedish citizens."

An academic from Malmö described the law as „a brutal and ineffective policy that opens a Pandora's box of informing, characteristic of authoritarian states." Harsh words for a country that saw itself as a beacon of human rights. The timing is no accident - elections are in September, and the government depends on the support of the far right.

For the Balkans this is doubly interesting. On one hand, it is precisely our people who have for decades gone west looking for exactly the kind of society Sweden is now dismantling. On the other, when one of the richest democracies normalizes reporting your neighbor, it moves the bar for everyone - because models from the north sooner or later reach us too. Once snitching becomes law over there, how long before it becomes an idea here?