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Just this morning, a self-styled Alliance of the Committed, predominantly made up of EU heads of state, met in Paris with representatives of President Trump, hoping to secure further headway on a durable settlement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a framework to end the conflict with Russia is "largely complete", nobody in that room wanted to risk maintaining the Washington onboard.

Yet, there was an colossal elephant in the room in that grand and luxurious gathering, and the underlying mood was profoundly tense.

Recall the developments of the last few days: the US administration's divisive intervention in Venezuela and the US president's insistence following this, that "we need Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's largest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is located in the Arctic region but is an semi-independent territory of Denmark's.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was sitting across from two influential individuals speaking on behalf of Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European colleagues to refrain from alienating the US over the Greenland issue, for fear that that affects US support for the Ukrainian cause.

The continent's officials would have far preferred to keep Greenland and the debate on the war apart. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Denmark, leaders of big EU countries at the talks released a declaration stating: "The island is part of NATO. Stability in the Arctic must therefore be secured together, in partnership with treaty partners including the America".

"The decision is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them only, to determine on affairs concerning Denmark and its autonomous territory," the declaration further stated.

The communique was received positively by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was slow to be drafted and, due to the limited group of endorsers to the statement, it did not manage to project a European Union united in purpose.

"If there had been a unified declaration from all 27 member states, along with NATO ally the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's control, that would have delivered a powerful message to America," noted a European foreign policy specialist.

Reflect on the contradiction at work at the France meeting. Multiple EU government and other leaders, including the alliance and the European Union, are seeking to involve the US administration in safeguarding the future sovereignty of a European country (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an external actor (Russia), on the heels of the US has entered independent Venezuela militarily, arresting its head of state, while also still publicly threatening the autonomy of a further EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Denmark and the US are both participants of the military bloc NATO. They are, as stated by Danish officials, exceptionally key friends. Or were.

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

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Marginalized

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has voiced his determination to acquire the Arctic island. He's suggested acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded a military seizure.

Recently that the landmass is "crucially located right now, Greenland is frequented by Russian and Chinese vessels all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Denmark is incapable to provide security".

Denmark contests that assertion. It recently committed to spend $4bn in Arctic security for boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a treaty, the US has a military base already on the island – set up at the onset of the East-West standoff. It has cut the total of staff there from around 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to around 200 and the US has long been accused of taking its eye off polar defense, up to this point.

Copenhagen has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a expanded US footprint on the territory and more but faced with the US President's warning of unilateral action, Frederiksen said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

In the wake of the American intervention in Venezuela this weekend, her counterparts throughout Europe are taking it seriously.

"These developments has just emphasized – yet again – the EU's fundamental weakness {