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This very day, a so-called Alliance of the Committed, predominantly composed of European officials, convened in Paris with delegates of the Trump administration, hoping to make more headway on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a roadmap to end the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", not a single person in that meeting wanted to endanger keeping the Washington engaged.

Yet, there was an immense unspoken issue in that grand and luxurious gathering, and the underlying tension was extremely strained.

Consider the actions of the last few days: the Trump administration's divisive involvement in the South American nation and the American leader's insistence following this, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of defense".

This massive island is the world's largest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is situated in the far north but is an self-governing possession of Denmark's.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was seated facing two influential figures speaking on behalf of Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU counterparts to refrain from alienating the US over Greenland, in case that undermines US assistance for Ukraine.

Europe's leaders would have greatly desired to compartmentalize Greenland and the negotiations on the war distinct. But with the political temperature escalating from the White House and Copenhagen, leaders of leading EU countries at the gathering issued a declaration stating: "Greenland is part of NATO. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be secured together, in cooperation with treaty partners like the America".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to rule on affairs related to Denmark and its autonomous territory," the communiqué added.

The statement was welcomed by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics contend it was slow to be drafted and, because of the restricted number of endorsers to the statement, it was unable to show a Europe aligned in intent.

"If there had been a unified declaration from all 27 European Union countries, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's sovereignty, that would have conveyed a powerful signal to Washington," stated a EU defense analyst.

Consider the irony at work at the Paris summit. Several EU government and other officials, such as NATO and the European Union, are attempting to involve the White House in protecting the future autonomy of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an foreign power (Moscow), just after the US has intervened in independent Venezuela with force, arresting its head of state, while also continuing to actively undermining the autonomy of another EU member (Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Denmark and the US are both participants of the military bloc NATO. They are, in the view of Copenhagen, extremely strong partners. At least, they were.

The dilemma is, if Trump were to make good on his ambition to bring Greenland under US control, would it mark not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a profound crisis for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is far from the first instance Trump has spoken of his intention to acquire Greenland. He's suggested buying 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 patrolled by Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the perspective of national security and Denmark is unable to provide security".

Copenhagen strongly denies that claim. It has lately vowed to spend $4bn in Arctic security including boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a mutual pact, the US has a military base presently on Greenland – established at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has reduced the number of troops there from around 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to about 200 and the US has often been faulted of taking its eye off Arctic Security, up to this point.

Copenhagen has suggested it is open to discussion about a bigger US presence on the island and additional measures but faced with the US President's warning of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to control Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

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

"This whole situation has just highlighted – yet again – Europe's basic shortcoming {