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This very day, a self-styled Alliance of the Determined, mostly consisting of European heads of state, gathered in Paris with envoys of the Trump administration, attempting to make further advances on a durable settlement for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a framework to conclude the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", no-one in that room wanted to jeopardise keeping the Washington involved.

Yet, there was an colossal unspoken issue in that grand and sparkling summit, and the underlying tension was exceptionally tense.

Recall the developments of the past week: the Trump administration's divisive intervention in Venezuela and the US president's declaration shortly thereafter, that "our national security requires Greenland from the perspective of national security".

This massive island is the world's greatest island – it's sixfold the area of Germany. It lies in the Arctic but is an semi-independent possession of Denmark's.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was sitting across from two powerful figures acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

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

EU heads of state would have much rather to keep Greenland and the negotiations on the war apart. But with the tensions rising from Washington and Denmark, representatives of major European nations at the talks issued a statement saying: "Greenland is part of NATO. Stability in the North must therefore be attained collectively, in partnership with treaty partners like the United States".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to determine on matters regarding the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the statement continued.

The statement was welcomed by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics contend it was delayed to be put together and, due to the limited set of endorsers to the declaration, it was unable to demonstrate a European Union united in intent.

"If there had been a joint statement from all 27 member states, plus alliance partner the UK, in support of Copenhagen's control, that would have delivered a resounding warning to Washington," commented a European foreign policy analyst.

Consider the paradox at hand at the France meeting. Several EU government and other leaders, including NATO and the EU, are seeking to engage the Trump administration in safeguarding the future independence of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an external actor (Russia), immediately after the US has entered independent Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also persistently publicly threatening the territorial integrity of another EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the military bloc the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, according to Copenhagen, exceptionally close allies. Or were.

The question is, if Trump were to fulfill his goal to assert control over the island, would it mark not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a profound challenge for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Marginalized

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has voiced his resolve to control Greenland. He's floated the idea of acquiring it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of a military seizure.

On Sunday that the landmass is "so strategic right now, it is frequented by Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Denmark is not going to be able to handle it".

Denmark contests that last statement. It not long ago pledged to allocate $4bn in Greenland defence encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a treaty, the US operates a military base presently on the island – set up at the start of the East-West standoff. It has scaled down the total of personnel there from approximately 10,000 during the height of Cold War operations to approximately 200 and the US has long been accused of overlooking Arctic Security, until now.

Copenhagen has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US presence on the island and more but faced with the US President's threat of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to control Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

After the US administration's actions in Venezuela this past few days, her colleges across Europe are doing just that.

"These developments has just underlined – once again – Europe's basic shortcoming {