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Just this morning, a informal Alliance of the Committed, mostly composed of EU heads of state, met in Paris with envoys of US President Donald Trump, attempting to make more advances on a sustainable peace deal for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a roadmap to halt the conflict with Russia is "largely complete", nobody in that room wanted to risk retaining the Americans involved.

Yet, there was an immense elephant in the room in that impressive and glittering summit, and the fundamental atmosphere was extremely tense.

Bear in mind the developments of the past week: the White House's contentious intervention in Venezuela and the American leader's insistence soon after, that "we need Greenland from the perspective of national security".

Greenland is the world's biggest island – it's six times the size of Germany. It lies in the Arctic region but is an self-governing possession of Denmark's.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was sitting opposite two powerful figures acting for Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European colleagues not to antagonising the US over Greenland, lest that impacts US assistance for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have greatly desired to separate Greenland and the negotiations on the war distinct. But with the tensions rising from Washington and Denmark, representatives of major states at the Paris meeting released a statement saying: "Greenland is part of NATO. Security in the North must therefore be attained collectively, in conjunction with treaty partners including the America".

"It is for Copenhagen and Greenland, and them only, to decide on affairs regarding the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the statement further stated.

The communique was welcomed by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics argue it was slow to be drafted and, due to the restricted set of signatories to the statement, it was unable to show a European Union united in objective.

"Had there been a common position from all 27 member states, plus alliance partner the UK, in support of Copenhagen's sovereignty, that would have sent a powerful warning to the US," stated a European foreign policy specialist.

Reflect on the paradox at work at the France meeting. Multiple EU national and other leaders, such as NATO and the EU, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the Trump administration in protecting the future sovereignty of a continental state (Ukraine) against the expansionist land claims of an foreign power (Russia), on the heels of the US has entered independent Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also persistently publicly challenging the autonomy of another European nation (Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the transatlantic alliance NATO. They are, according to Danish officials, profoundly close allies. At least, they were.

The question is, if Trump were to act upon his desire to acquire Greenland, would it constitute not just an severe risk to NATO but also a major problem for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has spoken of his intention to control Greenland. He's floated the idea of buying it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of a military seizure.

Recently that the island is "crucially located right now, Greenland is patrolled by Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests and Copenhagen is not going to be able to handle it".

Copenhagen strongly denies that claim. It has lately committed to invest $4bn in Arctic security encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US operates a defense installation already on the island – founded at the beginning of the Cold War. It has scaled down the total of staff there from about 10,000 during peak the confrontation to approximately 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting the northern theater, until now.

Denmark has signaled it is willing to talk about a bigger US presence on the territory and additional measures but in light of the US President's assertion of going it alone, Frederiksen said on Monday that the US leader's goal to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

After the US administration's actions in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts across Europe are taking it seriously.

"These developments has just emphasized – for the umpteenth time – the EU's fundamental shortcoming {