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This very day, a self-styled Coalition of the Willing, mostly consisting of EU heads of state, met in Paris with delegates of US President Donald Trump, attempting to achieve additional headway on a lasting peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a plan to end the war with Russia is "largely complete", no-one in that meeting desired to endanger maintaining the US involved.

Yet, there was an colossal elephant in the room in that opulent and glittering gathering, and the underlying tension was profoundly uneasy.

Consider the actions of the recent days: the Trump administration's controversial incursion in Venezuela and the American leader's declaration soon after, that "our national security requires Greenland from the perspective of national security".

This massive island is the world's greatest island – it's six times the size of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic but is an autonomous territory of Copenhagen.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was seated across from two powerful individuals representing Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from her EU allies to refrain from alienating the US over the Greenland issue, in case that impacts US assistance for the Ukrainian cause.

EU heads of state would have far preferred to compartmentalize Greenland and the discussions on the war apart. But with the diplomatic heat mounting from Washington and Denmark, leaders of leading states at the Paris meeting released a statement stating: "This territory is part of the alliance. Defense in the North must therefore be attained together, in conjunction with NATO allies such as the US".

"It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to determine on matters concerning the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the declaration further stated.

The communique was received positively by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics contend it was delayed to be drafted and, owing to the restricted number of endorsers to the declaration, it did not manage to project a Europe in agreement in objective.

"Had there been a unified declaration from all 27 European Union countries, in addition to alliance partner the UK, in backing of Danish authority, that would have conveyed a strong message to America," stated a EU foreign policy specialist.

Reflect on the contradiction at hand at the European gathering. Several EU national and other leaders, such as the alliance and the EU, are seeking to engage the US administration in safeguarding the future independence of a continental state (Ukraine) against the hostile territorial ambitions of an outside force (Russia), immediately after the US has entered independent Venezuela with force, detaining its leader, while also continuing to actively threatening the sovereignty of another continental ally (Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Copenhagen and the US are both signatories of the military bloc NATO. They are, as stated by Danish officials, exceptionally key friends. At least, they were.

The dilemma is, should Trump make good on his desire to bring Greenland under US control, would it constitute not just an severe risk to NATO but also a major challenge for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Marginalized

This is not the first time President Trump has expressed his intention to dominate the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of buying it in the past. He's also not excluded taking it by force.

He insisted that the landmass is "crucially located right now, Greenland is patrolled by foreign naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests and Copenhagen is unable to do it".

Copenhagen strongly denies that assertion. It not long ago committed to allocate $4bn in the island's defense encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a treaty, the US maintains a military base presently on Greenland – established at the start of the Cold War. It has scaled down the figure of staff there from around 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to around 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting the northern theater, recently.

Copenhagen has signaled it is open to discussion about a expanded US footprint on the territory and further cooperation but in light of the US President's warning of independent moves, Frederiksen said on Monday that Washington's desire to control Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

Following the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts throughout Europe are doing just that.

"The current crisis has just underlined – for the umpteenth time – the EU's fundamental weakness {