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Just this morning, a informal Alliance of the Determined, largely composed of European officials, convened in the French capital with representatives of US President Donald Trump, aiming to make additional progress on a lasting settlement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a roadmap to halt the conflict with Russia is "largely complete", nobody in that gathering desired to risk keeping the Americans involved.

Yet, there was an enormous elephant in the room in that opulent and glittering Paris meeting, and the fundamental tension was exceptionally uneasy.

Bear in mind the developments of the recent days: the Trump administration's contentious incursion in Venezuela and the American leader's assertion following this, that "we need Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests".

This massive island is the world's largest island – it's 600% the size of Germany. It is located in the Arctic but is an self-governing region of Denmark's.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was sitting opposite two influential individuals speaking on behalf of Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU allies to refrain from antagonising the US over Greenland, for fear that that impacts US support for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have far preferred to keep the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on the war separate. But with the political temperature mounting from the White House and Denmark, leaders of major EU countries at the talks issued a statement stating: "The island is part of the alliance. Security in the Arctic must therefore be attained jointly, in cooperation with treaty partners such as the US".

"The decision is for Denmark and Greenland, and no one else, to rule on matters concerning the kingdom and Greenland," the declaration further stated.

The statement was greeted by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts contend it was slow to be put together and, because of the small group of endorsers to the statement, it did not manage to demonstrate a European Union aligned in purpose.

"Had there been a unified declaration from all 27 member states, along with NATO ally the UK, in support of Copenhagen's control, that would have conveyed a strong message to the US," stated a EU defense analyst.

Reflect on the irony at play at the France meeting. Numerous EU government and other officials, including NATO and the EU, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the White House in safeguarding the future independence of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an external actor (Russia), on the heels of the US has entered independent Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also still openly challenging the autonomy of another European nation (Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Denmark and the US are both members of the military bloc NATO. They are, in the view of Danish officials, extremely close allies. Or were.

The dilemma is, should Trump act upon his desire to assert control over the island, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to NATO 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 control the Arctic island. He's proposed purchasing it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of forcible annexation.

Recently that the island is "crucially located right now, Greenland is frequented by foreign ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the perspective of defense and Copenhagen is not going to be able to do it".

Denmark contests that assertion. It recently pledged to allocate $4bn in Greenland defence encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US has a military base currently on Greenland – founded at the start of the East-West standoff. It has scaled down the total of troops there from approximately 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to about 200 and the US has long been accused of neglecting Arctic Security, until now.

Denmark has suggested it is willing to talk about a bigger US footprint on the island and additional measures but confronted by the US President's warning of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to acquire Greenland should be treated with gravity.

In the wake of the Washington's moves in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts in Europe are taking it seriously.

"This whole situation has just emphasized – yet again – the EU's basic weakness {