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Earlier today, a self-styled Coalition of the Committed, largely composed of European heads of state, gathered in the French capital with envoys of US President Donald Trump, attempting to make further headway on a lasting settlement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a plan to conclude the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", not a single person in that gathering wished to endanger retaining the Americans onboard.

Yet, there was an colossal elephant in the room in that opulent and luxurious gathering, and the prevailing tension was exceptionally tense.

Consider the developments of the recent days: the White House's controversial involvement in Venezuela and the US president's insistence following this, that "our national security requires Greenland from the standpoint of defense".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's largest island – it's sixfold the dimensions of Germany. It is situated in the far north but is an semi-independent territory of Denmark's.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was positioned opposite two influential individuals acting for Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from European allies not to provoking the US over the Greenland issue, for fear that that impacts US support for Ukraine.

Europe's leaders would have much rather to compartmentalize Greenland and the negotiations on the war apart. But with the political temperature escalating from Washington and Denmark, leaders of major EU countries at the Paris meeting released a communiqué stating: "Greenland is part of NATO. Security in the Arctic must therefore be secured jointly, in conjunction with treaty partners such as the US".

"The decision is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to determine on issues concerning Denmark and its autonomous territory," the declaration added.

The statement was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts say it was tardy to be formulated and, due to the limited number of endorsers to the statement, it was unable to demonstrate a European Union united in purpose.

"If there had been a common declaration from all 27 European Union countries, plus alliance partner the UK, in support of Copenhagen's authority, that would have delivered a resounding message to the US," noted a EU defense expert.

Ponder the irony at hand at the European gathering. Numerous EU government and other officials, including NATO and the European Union, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the White House in guaranteeing the future autonomy of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the hostile geopolitical designs of an outside force (Russia), just after the US has swooped into sovereign Venezuela militarily, taking its president into custody, while also continuing to publicly threatening the autonomy of a further EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the transatlantic alliance NATO. They are, in the view of Danish officials, profoundly close allies. At least, they were.

The question is, should Trump make good on his desire to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an existential threat to the alliance but also a profound challenge for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Trampled Underfoot

This is not an isolated incident Trump has expressed his determination to acquire the Arctic island. He's suggested purchasing it in the past. He's also not excluded taking it by force.

On Sunday that the island is "vitally important right now, Greenland is frequented by Russian and Chinese vessels all over the place. We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security and Copenhagen is unable to handle it".

Copenhagen strongly denies that claim. It has lately pledged to spend $4bn in the island's defense for boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a mutual pact, the US has a defense installation already on Greenland – established at the onset of the Cold War. It has scaled down the total of personnel there from around 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to about 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting the northern theater, up to this point.

Denmark has signaled it is willing to talk about a bigger US presence on the island and additional measures but faced with the US President's threat of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to acquire Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

In the wake of the US administration's actions in Venezuela this weekend, her colleges in Europe are heeding that warning.

"These developments has just emphasized – yet again – Europe's fundamental shortcoming {