So the EU’s promise of membership simply has to be credible if accession-driven reforms are to succeed and EU norms internalized in applicant states. The EU’s real problem in the western Balkans is that the promise (of membership) made to aspiring states in 2003 is no longer sufficient to counter the currents of enlargement fatigue, which has led to reform fatigue, slowing the progress of the region’s applicants to a virtual standstill.