De Wever was appointed by the King, following the collapse of the previous marathon round of seven-party talks, to the position of "clarifier", with the job of determining the positions of the various participants in the talks in order to chart a way forward. It was on the basis of that surveying function that he drew up his compromise, sent to the other parties on Sunday afternoon. He said there was something in it for everyone; he also warned that it would be painful for everyone - including his own party - in some way or another.

The De Wever compromise includes a chapter on state financing, which proposes that 45% of the personal tax raised by the federal government should instead be passed to the regions, representing a total of some €16 billion.

Also in the note, extra funding for Brussels would consist of €100 million in 2011, €200 million in 2012 and €300 million in the years after that, plus an extra €50 million if the region shows good governance.

The electoral district Brussels-Halle-Vilvoorde (BHV) would be split into Brussels (where there would be lists from parties on both sides of the language frontier, as now) and Halle-Vilvoorde, which would then be Flemish, part of the Flemish Brabant constituency. Voters in the so-called facility municipalities around Brussels - Kraainem, Wezembeek-Oppem, Drogenbos, Wemmel, Linkebeek and Sint-Genesius Rode - would be able to choose to vote either for a Brussels list or a Flemish Brabant list.

The proposal contains a number of other elements:

A limit to the number of ministers and highly-paid political posts;

Political candidates restricted to standing on one list only;

The regions to take over the courts of first and second instance, leaving only military tribunals, Cassation, the Council of State, the constitutional court and the federal prosecutor standing at federal level;

Child benefit to be handed over to the language communities, not the regions as the French-speaking side wants.

The French-speaking parties rapidly make clear their reaction to the note - the rejection was immediate and seemingly irreversible. Elio Di Rupo's socialist party PS was "deeply disappointed" and complained of "provocation," the French-speaking Christian Democrats said the proposal was "unbalanced" and the greens of Ecolo found it "partisan".

The Flemish parties, by contrast, reacted in a cautiously positive manner to the note, with Wouter Beke (CD&V) considering there to be "no alternative than to carry on working on the basis of this text". Wouter Van Besien of Groen! considered the note "a good basis" on which to move towards a completion of negotiations, while the socialist party's Caroline Gennez thought there were "loose ends", but described the reaction of the French-speakers in sweeping the note from the table as "incredibly stupid" and "irresponsible".

Among the objections of the French-speaking parties is the question of transfer of taxation from state to regions. The PS said that the proposals threatened to "strangle the development of Wallonia and Brussels, and endanger the welfare of Walloons and the people of Brussels."