Members of all of Belgium's political parties except the far-right Vlaams Belang have met this week to find a solution to the current political crisis in Brussels. The forum has been called the 'Octopus' group, and its main task will be to reach an agreement on state reforms. Flemish and Walloon politicians will negotiate the devolution of powers to the regions. The deadline for discussions is 23 March, when Yves Leterme, winner of the June 2007 general election, will replace the interim Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.

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Further information:

“Pour les Européens, la sécession de la Flandre reste de la politique-fiction”, Le Monde [french]