The African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS) was set up in Darfur just two years after the creation of the African Union (AU). Initially intended as a 100-strong observation mission, it increased progressively to 3,000 and now numbers over 7,000 yet has been unable to prevent the degradation in the security situation seen in recent months. The operation has been less than a complete success but the failure stems largely from the inability of political negotiations to arrive at an inclusive agreement. Relations between the EU and the AU are not what they might be but there are possibilities for improvement.