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This very day, a so-called Alliance of the Committed, mostly composed of European heads of state, convened in the French capital with envoys of US President Donald Trump, attempting to secure more progress on a sustainable settlement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a framework to halt the conflict with Russia is "largely complete", not a single person in that meeting desired to jeopardise retaining the US engaged.

Yet, there was an immense elephant in the room in that opulent and luxurious gathering, and the prevailing mood was profoundly uneasy.

Recall the events of the last few days: the US administration's controversial incursion in Venezuela and the American leader's insistence shortly thereafter, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests".

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

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was sitting across from two key personalities speaking on behalf of Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from her EU allies to refrain from antagonising the US over the Greenland issue, in case that undermines US backing for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have far preferred to separate Greenland and the negotiations on the war apart. But with the political temperature escalating from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of big EU countries at the talks released a statement asserting: "Greenland is part of the alliance. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be achieved together, in cooperation with treaty partners such as the America".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and Greenland, and them alone, to rule on affairs regarding the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the declaration added.

The communique was received positively by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers say it was delayed to be formulated and, because of the limited group of endorsers to the statement, it failed to show a European Union united in objective.

"Had there been a unified position from all 27 EU partners, plus alliance partner the UK, in defense of Danish control, that would have delivered a resounding signal to America," stated a European defense expert.

Ponder the contradiction at play at the European gathering. Several EU national and other officials, from NATO and the European Union, are seeking to involve the US administration in safeguarding the future independence of a EU nation (the Eastern European nation) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an foreign power (Russia), on the heels of the US has swooped into sovereign Venezuela by armed intervention, detaining its leader, while also still openly undermining the sovereignty of a different European nation (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Copenhagen and the US are both signatories of the defensive pact the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, according to Danish officials, extremely strong partners. Or were.

The question is, were Trump to act upon his desire to bring Greenland under US control, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a profound challenge for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not an isolated incident Trump has voiced his determination to control Greenland. He's suggested acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded taking it by force.

He insisted that the territory is "vitally important right now, it is frequented by foreign naval assets all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Copenhagen is incapable to handle it".

Copenhagen refutes that last statement. It has lately pledged to allocate $4bn in the island's defense for boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US operates a defense installation currently on Greenland – founded at the beginning of the Cold War. It has cut the figure of troops there from approximately 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to about 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of overlooking Arctic Security, up to this point.

Denmark has suggested it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US role on the territory and more but confronted by the US President's assertion of going it alone, Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump's ambition to control Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

After the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her fellow leaders in Europe are heeding that warning.

"The current crisis has just emphasized – yet again – the EU's fundamental shortcoming {