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Earlier today, a self-styled Group of the Committed, mostly composed of European officials, met in the French capital with envoys of President Trump, hoping to secure further headway on a durable peace agreement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a framework to conclude the war with Russia is "nearly finalized", not a single person in that room desired to endanger retaining the Americans involved.

Yet, there was an immense elephant in the room in that grand and glittering summit, and the prevailing tension was extremely tense.

Recall the developments of the last few days: the White House's divisive incursion in the South American nation and the American leader's declaration following this, that "our national security requires Greenland from the viewpoint of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's greatest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It lies in the Arctic region but is an self-governing region of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was sitting across from two powerful personalities speaking on behalf of Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from European allies to avoid alienating the US over the Greenland issue, in case that impacts US support for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have greatly desired to keep Greenland and the negotiations on the war apart. But with the diplomatic heat rising from the White House and Copenhagen, representatives of major European nations at the talks released a declaration saying: "This territory is part of NATO. Security in the Arctic must therefore be attained jointly, in conjunction with NATO allies such as the United States".

"Sovereignty is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them only, to decide on issues concerning the kingdom and Greenland," the communiqué further stated.

The announcement was welcomed by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was tardy to be put together and, owing to the small set of signatories to the statement, it did not manage to demonstrate a Europe united in purpose.

"If there had been a unified position from all 27 European Union countries, plus NATO ally the UK, in backing of Copenhagen's authority, that would have conveyed a resounding warning to Washington," noted a EU defense specialist.

Ponder the paradox at work at the France meeting. Several EU national and other officials, from NATO and the European Union, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the US administration in guaranteeing the future sovereignty of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an external actor (Moscow), immediately after the US has entered independent Venezuela with force, arresting its head of state, while also continuing to actively challenging the territorial integrity of a different European nation (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, as stated by Danish officials, exceptionally key friends. Previously, they were considered so.

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

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is far from the first instance President Trump has expressed his intention to control Greenland. He's proposed purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out taking it by force.

On Sunday that the landmass 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 standpoint of national security and Denmark is incapable to handle it".

Denmark contests that claim. It recently pledged to spend $4bn in Greenland defence including boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US operates a strategic outpost presently on Greenland – established at the onset of the East-West standoff. It has scaled down the total of staff there from approximately 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to around 200 and the US has long been accused of taking its eye off Arctic Security, up to this point.

Denmark has suggested it is willing to talk about a expanded US presence on the island and additional measures but faced with the US President's threat of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to take Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

Following the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts throughout Europe are heeding that warning.

"This whole situation has just underlined – once again – the EU's fundamental weakness {