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Earlier today, a so-called Alliance of the Committed, mostly made up of EU officials, met in the French capital with representatives of the Trump administration, hoping to achieve further headway on a lasting peace agreement for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a plan to end the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", nobody in that gathering desired to jeopardise retaining the Americans onboard.

Yet, there was an colossal elephant in the room in that impressive and glittering Paris meeting, and the underlying mood was exceptionally strained.

Bear in mind the actions of the last few days: the Trump administration's controversial incursion in the South American nation and the President Trump's insistence soon after, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".

This massive island is the world's biggest island – it's 600% the area of Germany. It is situated in the far north but is an autonomous territory of Copenhagen.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was positioned across from two key figures acting for Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU counterparts not to alienating the US over the Greenland issue, lest that affects US assistance for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have far preferred to keep the Arctic dispute and the debate on the war apart. But with the tensions escalating from Washington and Copenhagen, representatives of big EU countries at the gathering issued a statement asserting: "Greenland is part of NATO. Security in the North must therefore be secured jointly, in partnership with NATO allies such as the America".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to rule on matters regarding the kingdom and Greenland," the statement continued.

The communique was greeted by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics argue it was tardy to be formulated and, owing to the small number of supporters to the statement, it failed to demonstrate a Europe united in objective.

"If there had been a unified statement from all 27 European Union countries, plus NATO ally the UK, in backing of Danish control, that would have sent a powerful message to Washington," commented a European defense analyst.

Reflect on the contradiction at play at the France meeting. Numerous European national and other leaders, from NATO and the EU, are seeking to involve the White House in protecting the future autonomy of a European country (Ukraine) against the expansionist geopolitical designs of an foreign power (Moscow), on the heels of the US has entered sovereign Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also persistently actively challenging the sovereignty of another continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both participants of the military bloc NATO. They are, in the view of Danish officials, profoundly key friends. At least, they were.

The issue is, if Trump were to act upon his ambition to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an existential threat to NATO but also a profound crisis for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not the first time Trump has spoken of his determination to dominate Greenland. He's suggested acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded forcible annexation.

Recently that the territory is "vitally important right now, Greenland is frequented by foreign vessels all over the place. We need Greenland from the perspective of defense and Denmark is incapable to do it".

Copenhagen contests that assertion. It recently vowed to allocate $4bn in Greenland defence including boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US operates a defense installation currently on the island – established at the onset of the East-West standoff. It has cut the figure of personnel there from around 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to approximately 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting the northern theater, until now.

Copenhagen has indicated it is amenable to dialogue about a larger US presence on the territory and additional measures but faced with the US President's assertion of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

In the wake of the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her fellow leaders across Europe are taking it seriously.

"These developments has just highlighted – yet again – the EU's basic vulnerability {