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This very day, a so-called Coalition of the Committed, largely made up of EU leaders, met in the French capital with delegates of US President Donald Trump, attempting to secure additional advances on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a roadmap to halt the conflict with Russia is "largely complete", not a single person in that room wished to endanger maintaining the Washington engaged.

Yet, there was an colossal glaring omission in that impressive and glittering summit, and the underlying mood was profoundly strained.

Consider the events of the recent days: the White House's contentious intervention in the South American nation and the American leader's assertion soon after, that "our national security requires Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests".

This massive island is the world's largest island – it's sixfold the area of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic region but is an self-governing possession of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was seated across from two key figures speaking on behalf of Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU allies to avoid alienating the US over the Arctic question, for fear that that impacts US backing for the Ukrainian cause.

The continent's officials would have much rather to separate the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on Ukraine distinct. But with the diplomatic heat escalating from Washington and Denmark, representatives of leading EU countries at the gathering released a communiqué stating: "This territory is part of NATO. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be attained together, in conjunction with alliance members like the US".

"The decision is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to decide on issues concerning the kingdom and Greenland," the statement further stated.

The communique was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was delayed to be formulated and, due to the restricted number of supporters to the declaration, it was unable to show a European Union aligned in objective.

"If there had been a unified statement from all 27 European Union countries, plus NATO ally the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's sovereignty, that would have conveyed a powerful message to Washington," noted a EU defense specialist.

Reflect on the irony at play at the Paris summit. Numerous European government and other officials, from NATO and the European Union, are attempting to secure the cooperation of the Trump administration in guaranteeing the future autonomy of a EU nation (the Eastern European nation) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an outside force (Russia), immediately after the US has intervened in independent Venezuela militarily, taking its president into custody, while also still openly challenging the sovereignty of a further continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To compound the situation – Copenhagen and the US are both signatories of the military bloc NATO. They are, as stated by Danish officials, profoundly close allies. Previously, they were considered so.

The dilemma is, were Trump to make good on his goal to assert control over the island, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a profound challenge for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Marginalized

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has voiced his intention to control Greenland. He's proposed acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded a military seizure.

He insisted that the territory is "crucially located right now, it is patrolled by Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Denmark is incapable to handle it".

Copenhagen contests that claim. It has lately committed to invest $4bn in Greenland defence for boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a bilateral agreement, the US operates a defense installation presently on the island – set up at the beginning of the Cold War. It has cut the number of troops there from approximately 10,000 during peak the confrontation to approximately 200 and the US has long been accused of taking its eye off the northern theater, recently.

Denmark has indicated it is open to discussion about a larger US footprint on the territory and further cooperation but faced with the US President's threat of unilateral action, Frederiksen said on Monday that the US leader's goal to control Greenland should be taken seriously.

After the US administration's actions in Venezuela this weekend, her colleges across Europe are heeding that warning.

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