Abstract
The paper analyses the functioning of the rights and obligations approach in the labour markets of European countries. After decades of labour market policies being aimed at the reduction of unemployment rates, more and more attention is being paid to labour force activation and rights and obligations approach. The conditionality of rights with obligations is based on the normative framework that regulates the rights and obligations of the unemployed and inactive. The analysis of the functioning of the rights and obligations approach, in this paper, is based on the comparison of the eligibility criteria for unemployment benefits, defined and calculated by the OECD and the calculated share of inactive persons registered in the employment offices of European countries.