A resolution to the long dispute over the future of the Heineken Cup is in sight after a meeting of the Six Nations committee in Heathrow on Monday turned back time three months.

The six unions returned to the position where they had been on 21 October, when a proposal for the running of the tournament to be assumed by the Six Nations committee from European Rugby Cup Ltd won unanimous backing, until the French Rugby Federation later demurred.

The FFR wanted the competition to be run by Fira – the organisation made up of the smaller unions in Europe – but after a meeting with the Rugby Football Union last week, has gone back to where it was in October having floated the idea of a competition without England for next season.

The English clubs and the four Welsh regions have said they will not take part in the European Cup from next season if it continues to be run by ERC. While one obstacle to their signing a new accord has been removed, two more remain.

The first is the desire of the clubs in England and France and the regions for commercial deals in Europe to be negotiated by the clubs rather than the unions. The Six Nations committee issued a short statement after Monday's meeting, which described the five-hour talks – Europe was one item on the agenda – as constructive, saying they all remained committed to finding a six-nation solution and reaffirming everyone's commitment to the International Rugby Board regulations.

Allowing clubs to drive the European Cup commercially would be within the IRB regulations but the second obstacle is the exclusive television rights negotiated separately by ERC and Premiership Rugby to Sky and BT Sport respectively.

There is a growing belief that the two rivals may reach an accommodation over the rights so that they are shared rather than exclusive. There is a problem, though, for the four RaboDirect Pro12 countries, who last year agreed that the proceeds from Europe should be divided equally between their league, the Premiership and France's Top 14, rather than the current system where the French and English share half and the Rabo unions get the rest. They now all face a sharp drop in income and need turnover to be increased by 50% just to be where they are now.

The English and French clubs did suggest at one point last year that they would be prepared to guarantee the Rabo unions £20m if the proceeds were less than £60m, even appreciably so, but that was based on BT having the sole rights.

The French, English and Welsh unions will report back to their clubs and regions, who want the issue to be resolved by the end of the month but may have to be content with signs of progress.