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Earlier today, a self-styled Coalition of the Determined, largely composed of European leaders, gathered in the French capital with representatives of President Trump, hoping to make additional headway on a lasting settlement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a roadmap to end the war with Russia is "largely complete", nobody in that gathering wished to risk retaining the Americans involved.

Yet, there was an immense unspoken issue in that opulent and luxurious gathering, and the fundamental mood was profoundly uneasy.

Consider the developments of the last few days: the White House's controversial incursion in Venezuela and the American leader's assertion shortly thereafter, that "it is essential to have Greenland from the standpoint of national security".

This massive island is the world's biggest island – it's sixfold the size of Germany. It is located in the far north but is an autonomous possession of Copenhagen.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was seated opposite two influential individuals speaking on behalf of Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU counterparts to refrain from alienating the US over the Greenland issue, in case that impacts US assistance for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have far preferred to keep the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on the war distinct. But with the tensions mounting from the White House and Copenhagen, leaders of leading EU countries at the Paris meeting put out a statement asserting: "The island is part of NATO. Defense in the North must therefore be attained jointly, in partnership with alliance members like the America".

"The decision is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to decide on matters related to the kingdom and Greenland," the communiqué added.

The announcement was greeted by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics argue it was tardy to be put together and, because of the small group of supporters to the declaration, it failed to show a Europe in agreement in objective.

"Were there a unified declaration from all 27 member states, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in backing of Danish sovereignty, that would have delivered a powerful signal to America," commented a EU foreign policy expert.

Consider the paradox at play at the France meeting. Multiple EU government and other officials, such as NATO and the European Union, are trying to secure the cooperation of the Trump administration in safeguarding the future autonomy of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an external actor (Russia), just after the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela with force, taking its president into custody, while also continuing to openly threatening the territorial integrity of a different continental ally (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, according to Danish officials, extremely close allies. Previously, they were considered so.

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

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is not the first time President Trump has expressed his resolve to dominate the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of acquiring it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of taking it by force.

Recently that the territory is "vitally important right now, Greenland is patrolled by Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Denmark is unable to provide security".

Denmark refutes that last statement. It has lately pledged to invest $4bn in Arctic security encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US maintains a defense installation currently on Greenland – set up at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has cut the number of staff there from about 10,000 during peak the confrontation to about 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of overlooking polar defense, recently.

Denmark has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US presence on the territory and more but confronted by the US President's threat of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to take Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

Following the US administration's actions in Venezuela this weekend, her colleges across Europe are taking it seriously.

"This whole situation has just underlined – yet again – the EU's fundamental vulnerability {