June 1, 2015 
Author: Adina Șerban
Abstract: Coalition formation represents a major feature of the negotiations and decisionon-making processes in the Council of the European Union and it became a theme of interest for researchers during the EU15 and EU25. This paper analyses the interngovernmental negotiations of the EU on the Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020 and aims to present insights on the decision-making process in the EU Council during EU28. This paper focuses on the member states’ coalition-building during the intergovernmental negotiations of the EU and identifies the major coalitions encountered in the EU Council and the premises which lead to the establishment of alliances in the Council. The methodology is based on qualitative methods, namely on content analysis of the relevant EU official documents. Furthermore, to identify the current situation in the Council of the European Union, especially how the alliances are structured, the paper employs a case study –the negotiations of the 2014-2020 Multiannual Financial Framework – and it provides an analysis of the public deliberations on the adoption of the MFF 2014-2020.
Keywords: coalition-building, European Union, intergovernmental negotiations, reasons behind coalitions.