Libya’s emergence as a key jumping-off point for entry into Europe by sea has created a sense of urgency within the EU, which seeks to prevent arrivals from this new point of departure, and has led to the initiation of EULibya cooperation on migration. This article argues that the EU is failing to adopt an integrated approach to migration management in Libya, despite its repeated assurances to the contrary. It examines EULibya cooperation, still in its early stages, and analyses the experiences of refugees and migrants in Libya and on their journeys to Europe. Both elements strongly indicate that the current approach, which focuses on border control and surveillance, is likely to meet with limited success in achieving the EU’s aims of stemming the flow of irregular migrants arriving from Libya in Italy and Malta, protecting the human rights of those in transit and ensuring humanitarian outcomes for them.