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Earlier today, a informal Alliance of the Committed, mostly composed of EU heads of state, gathered in the French capital with delegates of US President Donald Trump, attempting to achieve more headway on a sustainable peace agreement for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a framework to halt the conflict with Russia is "nearly finalized", nobody in that room wished to jeopardise retaining the Washington involved.

Yet, there was an immense glaring omission in that impressive and glittering Paris meeting, and the prevailing atmosphere was profoundly uneasy.

Bear in mind the events of the recent days: the US administration's contentious incursion in Venezuela and the US president's insistence shortly thereafter, that "we need Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's largest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It lies in the Arctic region but is an autonomous possession of Denmark's.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was seated facing two key personalities acting for Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from her EU counterparts not to alienating the US over the Greenland issue, for fear that that impacts US assistance for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have much rather to separate Greenland and the debate on the war distinct. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of major EU countries at the talks released a declaration saying: "The island is part of the alliance. Security in the Arctic must therefore be secured jointly, in partnership with treaty partners including the US".

"The decision is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to decide on matters regarding Denmark and its autonomous territory," the declaration further stated.

The statement was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers contend it was tardy to be put together and, owing to the small set of signatories to the declaration, it did not manage to show a Europe aligned in objective.

"Were there a joint position from all 27 member states, plus NATO ally the UK, in support of Danish sovereignty, that would have conveyed a strong signal to the US," commented a European defense analyst.

Ponder the contradiction at work at the European gathering. Several European national and other leaders, including the alliance and the EU, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the White House in safeguarding the future autonomy of a European country (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive land claims of an external actor (Moscow), on the heels of the US has swooped into independent Venezuela by armed intervention, detaining its leader, while also still openly undermining the territorial integrity of another EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both members of the military bloc NATO. They are, according to Danish officials, exceptionally strong partners. At least, they were.

The issue is, if Trump were to act upon his ambition to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to the alliance but also a significant challenge for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Marginalized

This is not the first time Trump has expressed his intention to control the Arctic island. He's suggested purchasing it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of a military seizure.

He insisted that the territory is "vitally important right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese vessels all over the place. We need Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests and Denmark is unable to provide security".

Copenhagen contests that assertion. It not long ago committed to invest $4bn in Arctic security including boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US maintains a military base already on Greenland – established at the beginning of the Cold War. It has reduced the total of staff there from approximately 10,000 during peak the confrontation to approximately 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting polar defense, until now.

Denmark has suggested it is amenable to dialogue about a larger US presence on the island and further cooperation but faced with the US President's assertion of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

Following the US administration's actions in Venezuela this weekend, her fellow leaders throughout Europe are heeding that warning.

"These developments has just underlined – once again – the EU's core shortcoming {