The Alliance leader, Mr Sean Neeson, cautioned against "knee-jerk" reactions to the proposals, saying that recent street violence made it imperative the current political vacuum be filled.
"Everybody must bear in mind the consequences that could flow from a rejection of this document," he said.
He indicated, however, that his own party may have difficulty accepting certain aspects of the package.
"Alliance has particular reservations regarding paragraph 20 which seems to suggest that prosecutions will not be pursued for offences that occurred before the [Belfast] Agreement. This is a major modification of the agreement and risks legitimising the various terrorist campaigns," he said.
The party would defer any overall decision on the package, he said, until after its ruling executive had met to consider the package last night.
"At first glance, it is clear that there will be both pain and gain in this package. In a deeply divided society, if we are to move forward together, parties cannot expect to have everything to their liking," he added.
Mr Neeson said if the proposals were rejected there could be no renegotiation of the Good Friday agreement. "While the agreement is not perfect, it is the only show in town."
The Women's Coalition urged the North's political parties to consider carefully the proposals on offer before giving their reactions.
Ms Jane Morrice said the package represented a genuine attempt by the two governments to resolve the issues dogging the peace process and reach an agreed way forward.
"Clearly there is going to need to be much reflection and consideration on all sides, as this document covers many different issues and provides some new material," she said.
The response of parties would be as important as the proposals themselves, she added.
"This includes responses from the paramilitary groups and the way in which they are interpreted by the De Chastelain Commission."
The plan to take issues forward through an implementation group was a positive initiative which would, she said, enable politicians in the North to "break away from the crisis-to-crisis way of dealing with obstacles in this process, which has led to great instability and undermined public confidence in the agreement".
The Workers' Party chairman, Mr John Lowry, said that unionists would not be able to support the proposals until there was decommissioning by republicans.
"While there are recommendations in most areas, there is one glaring omission. That is decommissioning, upon which nothing new has been proposed.
"In order that unionists, in particular, can give these proposals a fair wind, what is needed is an indication from the Provisional IRA as to what their intentions are," he said.
The leader of the Progressive Unionist Party, which has links to the UVF, has said his party will not be "bounced into" any judgment of the governments' proposals.
Asked how he thought the proposals would go down within his community, Mr David Ervine said: "Unless there is an event of decommissioning, I don't think any unionist will be able to move."
Mr Gary McMichael, the leader of the Ulster Democratic Party, which has links with the UDA, said his party would consider all aspects of the proposals thoroughly "but it must be said that in the absence of a significant gesture by the IRA, it is likely the proposals lack the symmetry necessary to secure endorsement from loyalists".