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Just this morning, a so-called Group of the Willing, predominantly made up of European officials, gathered in the French capital with envoys of US President Donald Trump, attempting to achieve more advances on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a plan to halt the conflict with Russia is "90% of the way there", no-one in that meeting wanted to endanger maintaining the Washington engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous elephant in the room in that impressive and glittering Paris meeting, and the underlying tension was profoundly uneasy.

Consider the events of the last few days: the Trump administration's controversial incursion in Venezuela and the American leader's insistence following this, that "our national security requires Greenland from the standpoint of national security".

Greenland is the world's greatest island – it's sixfold the size of Germany. It is located in the Arctic but is an semi-independent territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was seated opposite two influential individuals speaking on behalf of Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from European colleagues to refrain from provoking the US over Greenland, for fear that that undermines US support for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have far preferred to separate Greenland and the discussions on the war distinct. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Denmark, representatives of major European nations at the gathering released a statement asserting: "The island is part of NATO. Security in the Arctic must therefore be achieved jointly, in partnership with treaty partners including the America".

"It is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to decide on affairs concerning the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the statement added.

The statement was greeted by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers argue it was tardy to be formulated and, due to the restricted group of endorsers to the declaration, it did not manage to show a European Union aligned in intent.

"If there had been a common position from all 27 EU partners, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in backing of Copenhagen's control, that would have conveyed a resounding message to Washington," commented a European defense expert.

Consider the irony at hand at the European gathering. Several European national and other officials, from the alliance and the European Union, are seeking to engage the US administration in protecting the future autonomy of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the expansionist land claims of an foreign power (Russia), on the heels of the US has entered independent Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also persistently actively undermining the sovereignty of a further EU member (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the military bloc NATO. They are, according to Copenhagen, exceptionally key friends. At least, they were.

The issue is, should Trump fulfill his ambition to bring Greenland under US control, would it mark not just an fundamental challenge to the alliance but also a significant challenge for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is far from the first instance President Trump has spoken of his intention to acquire the Arctic island. He's suggested buying it in the past. He's also refused to rule out forcible annexation.

Recently that the island is "vitally important right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Copenhagen is incapable to handle it".

Copenhagen strongly denies that assertion. It has lately vowed to invest $4bn in Greenland defence including boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a treaty, the US maintains a military base presently on the island – set up at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has scaled down the number of staff there from approximately 10,000 during the height of that era to about 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of taking its eye off polar defense, until now.

Copenhagen has suggested it is willing to talk about a bigger US footprint on the territory and additional measures but faced with the US President's assertion of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

Following the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her colleges across Europe are taking it seriously.

"These developments has just underlined – for the umpteenth time – the EU's core vulnerability {