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This very day, a so-called Group of the Willing, largely made up of EU heads of state, met in the French capital with envoys of US President Donald Trump, attempting to secure additional advances on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a plan to conclude the conflict with Russia is "nearly finalized", no-one in that room desired to risk maintaining the US engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous elephant in the room in that grand and glittering summit, and the prevailing tension was exceptionally uneasy.

Bear in mind the actions of the recent days: the Trump administration's divisive incursion in Venezuela and the President Trump's insistence following this, that "our national security requires Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's largest island – it's sixfold the dimensions of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic region but is an self-governing possession of the Kingdom of Denmark.

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

She was under pressure from European counterparts to avoid antagonising the US over Greenland, lest that impacts US assistance for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have far preferred to separate the Arctic dispute and the discussions on the war separate. But with the tensions escalating from Washington and Denmark, leaders of big European nations at the Paris meeting released a statement asserting: "Greenland is part of NATO. Stability in the Arctic must therefore be achieved together, in conjunction with treaty partners including the US".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and Greenland, and no one else, to determine on matters related to the kingdom and Greenland," the communiqué further stated.

The statement was welcomed by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts say it was delayed to be put together and, owing to the restricted set of signatories to the statement, it was unable to show a European Union united in intent.

"Had there been a unified position from all 27 European Union countries, in addition to alliance partner the UK, in backing of Copenhagen's sovereignty, that would have conveyed a resounding warning to the US," stated a EU foreign policy specialist.

Consider the contradiction at play at the Paris summit. Multiple European national and other leaders, including the alliance and the EU, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the US administration in protecting the future sovereignty of a European country (the Eastern European nation) against the hostile geopolitical designs of an foreign power (Moscow), just after the US has entered independent Venezuela with force, detaining its leader, while also persistently publicly undermining the sovereignty of a different continental ally (Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Denmark and the US are both participants of the military bloc NATO. They are, as stated by Danish officials, extremely close allies. Or were.

The dilemma is, were Trump to fulfill his ambition to bring Greenland under US control, would it constitute not just an fundamental challenge to the alliance but also a profound challenge for the EU?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not the first time Trump has expressed his resolve to acquire Greenland. He's proposed buying it in the past. He's also refused to rule out forcible annexation.

Recently that the island is "so strategic right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the standpoint of national security and Denmark is not going to be able to do it".

Denmark refutes that claim. It recently vowed to invest $4bn in Greenland defence for boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a treaty, the US operates a defense installation presently on Greenland – established at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has cut the number of troops there from about 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to about 200 and the US has often been faulted of overlooking polar defense, until now.

Copenhagen has signaled it is willing to talk about a bigger US presence on the island and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's warning of independent moves, Frederiksen said on Monday that the US leader's goal to acquire Greenland should be taken seriously.

In the wake of the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her colleges throughout Europe are taking it seriously.

"The current crisis has just highlighted – yet again – the EU's core weakness {