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Just this morning, a so-called Group of the Committed, largely made up of EU heads of state, met in Paris with envoys of the Trump administration, aiming to secure further progress on a lasting peace agreement for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a roadmap to halt the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", nobody in that gathering desired to endanger retaining the Washington engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous elephant in the room in that impressive and luxurious gathering, and the prevailing tension was exceptionally uneasy.

Recall the actions of the past week: the White House's controversial incursion in Venezuela and the President Trump's assertion following this, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of defense".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's biggest island – it's 600% the dimensions of Germany. It lies in the far north but is an autonomous possession of Denmark's.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was positioned across from two powerful personalities representing Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European allies to avoid provoking the US over the Greenland issue, lest that impacts US assistance for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have far preferred to keep Greenland and the discussions on the war apart. But with the political temperature rising from the White House and Denmark, leaders of leading states at the Paris meeting released a communiqué stating: "Greenland is part of the alliance. Defense in the North must therefore be attained collectively, in conjunction with alliance members like the America".

"It is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and them only, to determine on affairs regarding the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the statement continued.

The communique was welcomed by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was slow to be formulated and, because of the small group of supporters to the statement, it failed to show a European Union aligned in objective.

"Had there been a joint statement from all 27 member states, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's control, that would have conveyed a powerful message to Washington," noted a EU defense analyst.

Reflect on the contradiction at play at the France meeting. Several EU national and other leaders, such as the alliance and the EU, are trying to involve the US administration in guaranteeing the future independence of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an outside force (Moscow), immediately after the US has swooped into independent Venezuela with force, detaining its leader, while also still publicly challenging the territorial integrity of a different European nation (Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the defensive pact the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Copenhagen, extremely strong partners. Or were.

The issue is, if Trump were to make good on his goal to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a significant challenge for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is far from the first instance President Trump has voiced his resolve to dominate 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.

He insisted that the landmass is "crucially located right now, Greenland is frequented by foreign ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the perspective of defense and Copenhagen is incapable to handle it".

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

As per a bilateral agreement, the US operates a military base currently on the island – set up at the onset of the Cold War. It has reduced the number of staff there from approximately 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 signaled it is willing to talk about a larger US role on the territory and additional measures but confronted by the US President's threat of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to control Greenland should be treated with gravity.

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

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