The leaders of the four coalition parties are meeting with prime minister Dick Schoof on Wednesday afternoon in an effort to reach a deal on reducing the number of refugees coming to the Netherlands.

The big question, say analysts, is will Geert Wilders, leader of the far right PVV, agree to drop his demand that the situation be declared an official crisis, which would allow the cabinet to bypass parliament and bring in new laws.

Civil servants and legal experts have warned there is not enough evidence to back up claims that there is a crisis, and coalition party NSC is opposed to any attempt to ignore the upper and lower house of parliament.

Wilders and acting NSC chief Nicolien van Vroonhoven have been meeting over the past two days to discuss the stalemate, and VVD leader Dilan Yesilgöz and the BBB’s Caroline van der Plas are due to join them from 4 pm on Wednesday.

Both told reporters on Tuesday they did not know what direction the talks are taking.

Analysts have said that the risk of a cabinet crisis, or even the coalition’s collapse, does now appear to have been averted and that Wilders has shown a more conciliatory tone in recent days.

Schoof himself told reporters on Monday that “various options are on the table, including the emergency legislation”.

The ministers responsible for asylum – mainly the PVV’s Marjolein Faber – are set to rubber stamp the solution at Friday’s cabinet meeting and have been sidelined during the current talks.

The so-called asylum crisis is largely down to the shortage of housing and refugee numbers are well below official forecasts. The total number of applicants in 2024 is on course to reach 50,000 this year, the same as in 2022 and 2023.