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Earlier today, a self-styled Alliance of the Willing, predominantly composed of EU officials, met in the French capital with envoys of the Trump administration, hoping to secure additional progress on a lasting peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a roadmap to conclude the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", nobody in that room desired to endanger maintaining the Washington onboard.

Yet, there was an immense glaring omission in that grand and luxurious gathering, and the underlying tension was extremely tense.

Consider the actions of the past week: the Trump administration's contentious incursion in Venezuela and the American leader's declaration soon after, that "our national security requires Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's biggest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is located in the Arctic but is an self-governing possession of Copenhagen.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was positioned across from two key figures acting for Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European allies to avoid alienating the US over the Arctic question, lest that impacts US assistance for Ukraine.

Europe's leaders would have far preferred to compartmentalize Greenland and the negotiations on the war apart. But with the diplomatic heat mounting from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of major European nations at the Paris meeting released a communiqué asserting: "This territory is part of the alliance. Defense in the North must therefore be attained collectively, in cooperation with treaty partners like the United States".

"Sovereignty is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to decide on issues regarding Denmark and its autonomous territory," the statement added.

The communique was received positively by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was delayed to be put together and, due to the restricted group of signatories to the declaration, it did not manage to show a Europe aligned in objective.

"Were there a joint statement from all 27 EU partners, plus alliance partner the UK, in backing of Danish sovereignty, that would have sent a strong warning to the US," noted a EU defense specialist.

Ponder the contradiction at work at the France meeting. Multiple European national and other leaders, from NATO and the European Union, are seeking to involve the US administration in protecting the future independence of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the aggressive land claims of an outside force (Moscow), just after the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela with force, arresting its head of state, while also continuing to actively challenging the sovereignty of a further European nation (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both participants of the military bloc the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Danish officials, profoundly key friends. Previously, they were considered so.

The question is, were Trump to act upon his ambition to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an severe risk to NATO but also a significant problem for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is not an isolated incident Trump has spoken of his intention to control Greenland. He's proposed purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out a military seizure.

Recently that the island is "vitally important right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Denmark is unable to do it".

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

Pursuant to a treaty, the US has a strategic outpost currently on Greenland – founded at the start of the Cold War. It has reduced the total of troops there from about 10,000 during peak the confrontation to about 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting the northern theater, recently.

Copenhagen has indicated it is amenable to dialogue about a expanded US presence on the territory and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's threat of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to acquire Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

Following the US administration's actions in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts in Europe are taking it seriously.

"The current crisis has just underlined – yet again – Europe's basic vulnerability {