Znotraj sistema, zunaj kluba

This text critically examines Serbia’s integration into the European Union’s migration regime between 2015 and 2025. It explores Serbia's transition from a peripheral transit zone to a strategic location for containment, deportation, and enhanced border securitisation. Rather than being a passive partner, Serbia has proactively restructured its legal, institutional, and operational landscape to align with the EU's priorities for controlling migration. The study explores the layered and incremental processes through which this alignment has occurred, including legal harmonisation with the EU acquis, bilateral and trilateral policing agreements, the deployment of Frontex personnel, and the introduction of digital return infrastructures and biometric surveillance systems. These are often presented under the guise of technical assistance, regional cooperation, or humanitarian support. At the same time, the EU’s political and financial investments have turned Serbia’s geographical location and enforcement capacity into commodities, giving them operational legitimacy while denying the country the rights, protections, and decision-making power granted to member states. This asymmetrical arrangement positions Serbia both as an executor and as a product of EU externalisation policies. The text concludes that Serbia’s experience is emblematic of a broader European trend: migration control is being outsourced