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Just this morning, a self-styled Coalition of the Committed, predominantly composed of European leaders, gathered in Paris with representatives of the Trump administration, aiming to secure additional headway on a sustainable peace agreement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a framework to halt the conflict with Russia is "largely complete", no-one in that gathering wanted to jeopardise maintaining the US involved.

Yet, there was an colossal glaring omission in that opulent and glittering gathering, and the underlying atmosphere was extremely tense.

Recall the actions of the recent days: the White House's controversial intervention in Venezuela and the US president's assertion soon after, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of strategic interests".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's biggest island – it's 600% the size of Germany. It is situated in the far north but is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was positioned across from two powerful personalities speaking on behalf of Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from her EU colleagues to avoid provoking the US over the Greenland issue, in case that impacts US assistance for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have far preferred to compartmentalize the Arctic dispute and the discussions on Ukraine separate. But with the tensions mounting from Washington and Denmark, representatives of major European nations at the gathering issued a declaration stating: "This territory is part of the alliance. Stability in the Arctic must therefore be achieved collectively, in partnership with NATO allies like the United States".

"The decision is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and them only, to determine on issues related to Denmark and Greenland," the declaration continued.

The communique was greeted by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers say it was tardy to be drafted and, due to the limited set of supporters to the declaration, it did not manage to project a European Union united in purpose.

"If there had been a common position from all 27 European Union countries, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in support of Danish sovereignty, that would have conveyed a strong signal to the US," stated a European defense analyst.

Ponder the paradox at work at the European gathering. Multiple European government and other officials, from the alliance and the European Union, are trying to secure the cooperation of the Trump administration in safeguarding the future sovereignty of a European country (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an external actor (Russia), just after the US has swooped into independent Venezuela militarily, detaining its leader, while also continuing to openly challenging the autonomy of a further EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, as stated by Danish officials, exceptionally close allies. Or were.

The dilemma is, should Trump fulfill his ambition to bring Greenland under US control, would it represent not just an severe risk to the alliance but also a significant crisis for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not the first time President Trump has expressed his resolve to acquire the Arctic island. He's proposed buying it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of a military seizure.

Recently that the island is "crucially located right now, Greenland is patrolled by Russian and Chinese vessels all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Copenhagen is not going to be able to provide security".

Denmark contests that last statement. It recently vowed to allocate $4bn in Greenland defence including boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a treaty, the US operates a defense installation presently on Greenland – established at the start of the Cold War. It has scaled down the total of troops there from about 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to approximately 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of overlooking polar defense, until now.

Copenhagen has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US presence on the territory and additional measures but faced with the US President's warning of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to take Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

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

"The current crisis has just highlighted – once again – the EU's core weakness {