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Just this morning, a informal Group of the Committed, mostly composed of European officials, gathered in the French capital with delegates of US President Donald Trump, hoping to secure additional advances on a sustainable settlement for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a plan to conclude the war with Russia is "largely complete", not a single person in that gathering desired to endanger maintaining the Washington engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous elephant in the room in that grand and glittering Paris meeting, and the prevailing atmosphere was profoundly strained.

Recall the developments of the past week: the US administration's controversial incursion in the South American nation and the US president's assertion following this, that "it is essential to have Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's greatest island – it's 600% the dimensions 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 facing two influential figures acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from her EU allies to refrain from alienating the US over the Greenland issue, for fear that that affects US assistance for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have much rather to keep the Arctic dispute and the debate on the war separate. But with the political temperature escalating from the White House and Copenhagen, representatives of leading EU countries at the gathering released a statement saying: "Greenland is part of NATO. Defense in the North must therefore be secured jointly, in partnership with treaty partners like the US".

"It is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to decide on affairs regarding Denmark and Greenland," the declaration added.

The announcement was welcomed by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers argue it was tardy to be put together and, because of the small number of endorsers to the declaration, it failed to show a European Union united in intent.

"Had there been a joint position from all 27 member states, plus alliance partner the UK, in backing of Danish sovereignty, that would have sent a powerful message to Washington," stated a European defense expert.

Ponder the contradiction at work at the European gathering. Several EU government and other leaders, including NATO and the EU, are attempting to involve the White House in protecting the future independence of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the expansionist geopolitical designs of an external actor (Moscow), on the heels of the US has swooped into independent Venezuela with force, taking its president into custody, while also persistently openly challenging the autonomy of another EU member (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both signatories of the defensive pact the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Danish officials, profoundly close allies. At least, they were.

The dilemma is, were Trump to act upon his goal to acquire Greenland, would it constitute not just an existential threat to NATO but also a major problem for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Trampled Underfoot

This is far from the first instance President Trump has spoken of his resolve to control Greenland. He's floated the idea of purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out a military seizure.

Recently that the island is "so strategic right now, it is patrolled by Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the standpoint of national security and Denmark is unable to provide security".

Copenhagen refutes that claim. It recently pledged to invest $4bn in Greenland defence encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a mutual pact, the US has a defense installation currently on the island – set up at the onset of the Cold War. It has cut the number of staff there from approximately 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to about 200 and the US has long been accused of neglecting the northern theater, until now.

Copenhagen has indicated it is open to discussion about a bigger US role on the territory and more but in light of the US President's threat of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

After the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her fellow leaders in Europe are doing just that.

"This whole situation has just emphasized – for the umpteenth time – the EU's basic vulnerability {