This paper analyses the workings of the new EU fleet management system and the European Fisheries Fund, and how they relate to each other. Performance is measured against the international Plan of Action (POA) for the management of fishing capacity. The EU has made most progress in: establishing a legally binding EU wide capacity management system; assessing its fleets; and taking a phased and prioritised approach. The absence of an EU POA and national-POAs is one of the main areas in which the EU falls down however. Developing such POAs would support a strategic approach to capacity management and improve transparency, both of which are areas of weakness.