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This very day, a informal Group of the Willing, mostly consisting of EU leaders, gathered in the French capital with envoys of the Trump administration, hoping to secure further progress on a durable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a roadmap to conclude the conflict with Russia is "nearly finalized", no-one in that room wished to jeopardise keeping the Americans onboard.

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

Recall the developments of the last few days: the US administration's divisive intervention in Venezuela and the President Trump's assertion following this, that "we need Greenland from the perspective of defense".

This massive island is the world's greatest island – it's six times the dimensions of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic region but is an self-governing possession of Copenhagen.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was positioned facing two influential figures acting for Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from European counterparts to avoid antagonising the US over the Arctic question, for fear that that undermines US support for the Ukrainian cause.

EU heads of state would have greatly desired to separate Greenland and the negotiations on Ukraine distinct. But with the tensions rising from Washington and Denmark, representatives of major European nations at the talks released a declaration stating: "This territory is part of the alliance. Stability in the Arctic must therefore be attained together, in cooperation with NATO allies including the United States".

"It is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to determine on issues related to Denmark and its autonomous territory," the declaration added.

The communique was received positively by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was delayed to be drafted and, because of the small group of supporters to the statement, it was unable to demonstrate a European Union in agreement in intent.

"Had there been a common statement from all 27 EU partners, in addition to alliance partner the UK, in backing of Danish control, that would have delivered a resounding warning to Washington," noted a European defense specialist.

Consider the contradiction at hand at the France meeting. Numerous EU national and other officials, including NATO and the EU, are attempting to involve the Trump administration in guaranteeing the future sovereignty of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the expansionist geopolitical designs of an foreign power (Russia), on the heels of the US has intervened in independent Venezuela militarily, arresting its head of state, while also persistently publicly challenging the autonomy of a different continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the military bloc NATO. They are, in the view of Danish officials, profoundly key friends. Or were.

The dilemma is, should Trump fulfill his goal to bring Greenland under US control, would it constitute not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a major challenge for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has expressed his determination to control the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of acquiring it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of taking it by force.

Recently that the island is "crucially located right now, Greenland is frequented by foreign ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of strategic interests and Denmark is unable to do it".

Denmark strongly denies that last statement. It has lately pledged to allocate $4bn in the island's defense encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a mutual pact, the US has a strategic outpost presently on Greenland – founded at the start of the East-West standoff. It has reduced the total of personnel there from around 10,000 during peak the confrontation to around 200 and the US has often been faulted of taking its eye off Arctic Security, recently.

Copenhagen has signaled it is willing to talk about a expanded US presence on the island and further cooperation but faced with the US President's assertion of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to take Greenland should be taken seriously.

After the Washington's moves in Venezuela this weekend, her fellow leaders in Europe are doing just that.

"These developments has just emphasized – once again – the EU's fundamental weakness {