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Just this morning, a self-styled Alliance of the Committed, predominantly made up of European heads of state, met in the French capital with envoys of the Trump administration, attempting to make additional progress on a durable peace agreement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a plan to end the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", nobody in that room wished to jeopardise retaining the Americans involved.

Yet, there was an enormous unspoken issue in that impressive and glittering Paris meeting, and the underlying atmosphere was extremely tense.

Bear in mind the events of the recent days: the US administration's divisive incursion in the South American nation and the American leader's assertion following this, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".

Greenland is the world's biggest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is located in the Arctic region but is an semi-independent region of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was seated across from two influential individuals acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU colleagues not to provoking the US over the Arctic question, lest that affects US assistance for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have much rather to separate the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on Ukraine distinct. But with the political temperature rising from the White House and Copenhagen, representatives of big states at the Paris meeting issued a statement stating: "This territory is part of NATO. Security in the North must therefore be attained together, in conjunction with alliance members including the US".

"Sovereignty is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to determine on affairs related to Denmark and its autonomous territory," the statement further stated.

The statement was welcomed by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts contend it was tardy to be put together and, due to the small number of signatories to the declaration, it failed to project a European Union aligned in purpose.

"If there had been a joint statement from all 27 EU partners, along with NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish authority, that would have sent a strong warning to the US," stated a European foreign policy analyst.

Reflect on the irony at play at the European gathering. Numerous EU government and other leaders, such as NATO and the European Union, are seeking to engage the White House in guaranteeing the future sovereignty of a continental state (Ukraine) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an foreign power (Russia), immediately after the US has entered independent Venezuela with force, taking its president into custody, while also continuing to publicly undermining the autonomy of a different continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Denmark and the US are both participants of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Danish officials, profoundly strong partners. Previously, they were considered so.

The question is, were Trump to fulfill his goal to acquire Greenland, would it mark not just an existential threat to NATO but also a significant crisis for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is far from the first instance President Trump has spoken of his intention to dominate Greenland. He's floated the idea of purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out taking it by force.

Recently that the territory is "crucially located right now, Greenland is patrolled by foreign ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Denmark is not going to be able to provide security".

Copenhagen contests that last statement. It recently pledged to spend $4bn in Arctic security including boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US has a military base currently on the island – established at the start of the East-West standoff. It has cut the total of personnel there from about 10,000 during the height of that era to around 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of overlooking the northern theater, recently.

Copenhagen has suggested it is open to discussion about a expanded US role on the territory and further cooperation but in light of the US President's warning of unilateral action, Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump's ambition to acquire Greenland should be treated with gravity.

In the wake of the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her fellow leaders throughout Europe are doing just that.

"The current crisis has just emphasized – for the umpteenth time – Europe's fundamental weakness {