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This very day, a so-called Alliance of the Determined, mostly composed of EU officials, convened in Paris with representatives of the Trump administration, attempting to secure more progress on a sustainable settlement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a plan to halt the hostilities with Russia is "90% of the way there", nobody in that gathering wanted to jeopardise keeping the Americans onboard.

Yet, there was an immense unspoken issue in that opulent and luxurious Paris meeting, and the fundamental atmosphere was profoundly uneasy.

Bear in mind the developments of the past week: the US administration's divisive incursion in the South American nation and the President Trump's insistence soon after, that "it is essential to have Greenland from the perspective of national security".

This massive island is the world's biggest island – it's sixfold the size of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic but is an semi-independent territory of Copenhagen.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was positioned opposite two key individuals representing Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from her EU counterparts to avoid provoking the US over the Greenland issue, in case that affects US backing for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have far preferred to keep Greenland and the negotiations on Ukraine separate. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Denmark, leaders of big EU countries at the Paris meeting put out a statement saying: "Greenland is part of the alliance. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be secured together, in cooperation with NATO allies such as the America".

"It is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to decide on matters concerning the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the communiqué added.

The announcement was greeted by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was delayed to be formulated and, due to the limited number of signatories to the statement, it did not manage to show a Europe aligned in objective.

"Had there been a unified statement from all 27 member states, along with alliance partner the UK, in backing of Copenhagen's authority, that would have conveyed a strong warning to America," noted a European foreign policy specialist.

Ponder the contradiction at work at the European gathering. Multiple EU government and other officials, including the alliance and the EU, are trying to secure the cooperation of the Trump administration in protecting the future sovereignty of a European country (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an outside force (Russia), on the heels of the US has swooped into independent Venezuela by armed intervention, detaining its leader, while also persistently openly undermining the sovereignty of another continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Denmark and the US are both participants of the defensive pact NATO. They are, according to Danish officials, profoundly close allies. Previously, they were considered so.

The dilemma is, if Trump were to fulfill his ambition to acquire Greenland, would it mark not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a profound challenge for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Trampled Underfoot

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has voiced his determination to control the Arctic island. He's proposed purchasing it in the past. He's also not excluded a military seizure.

On Sunday that the island is "so strategic right now, it is patrolled by foreign ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of strategic interests and Copenhagen is not going to be able to handle it".

Denmark refutes that claim. It not long ago committed to invest $4bn in Greenland defence encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a bilateral agreement, the US operates a strategic outpost currently on the island – established at the onset of the Cold War. It has cut the figure of troops there from approximately 10,000 during peak that era to about 200 and the US has long been accused of taking its eye off Arctic Security, up to this point.

Copenhagen has suggested it is open to discussion about a expanded US role on the island and additional measures but in light of the US President's warning of unilateral action, Frederiksen said on Monday that the US leader's goal to control Greenland should be treated with gravity.

Following the Washington's moves in Venezuela this weekend, her fellow leaders across Europe are taking it seriously.

"This whole situation has just underlined – for the umpteenth time – Europe's basic weakness {