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Earlier today, a self-styled Group of the Determined, largely made up of European heads of state, convened in the French capital with representatives of President Trump, hoping to achieve further progress on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a framework to end the war with Russia is "90% of the way there", no-one in that meeting wished to endanger keeping the US onboard.

Yet, there was an immense elephant in the room in that grand and glittering summit, and the fundamental atmosphere was profoundly strained.

Recall the developments of the recent days: the Trump administration's controversial involvement in the South American nation and the American leader's insistence soon after, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of defense".

This massive island is the world's largest island – it's six times the dimensions of Germany. It is located in the Arctic but is an semi-independent region of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was positioned facing two key personalities speaking on behalf of Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from European colleagues not to provoking the US over the Arctic question, lest that undermines US support for the Ukrainian cause.

EU heads of state would have greatly desired to keep Greenland and the discussions on Ukraine distinct. But with the diplomatic heat rising from Washington and Copenhagen, representatives of leading EU countries at the talks put out a statement asserting: "This territory is part of the alliance. Security in the North must therefore be achieved together, in partnership with NATO allies including the United States".

"The decision is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to determine on issues related to the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the declaration added.

The communique was greeted by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts contend it was tardy to be put together and, owing to the limited number of endorsers to the statement, it was unable to demonstrate a European Union in agreement in objective.

"If there had been a joint declaration from all 27 EU partners, along with NATO ally the UK, in support of Copenhagen's authority, that would have conveyed a resounding warning to the US," stated a EU foreign policy analyst.

Ponder the irony at hand at the European gathering. Numerous European national and other leaders, from the alliance and the EU, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the Trump administration in protecting the future autonomy of a European country (Ukraine) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an external actor (Russia), immediately after the US has swooped into independent Venezuela militarily, taking its president into custody, while also persistently publicly undermining the autonomy of a different European nation (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Denmark and the US are both participants of the defensive pact NATO. They are, in the view of Copenhagen, exceptionally close allies. At least, they were.

The question is, were Trump to fulfill his ambition to assert control over the island, would it mark not just an fundamental challenge to the alliance but also a significant problem for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is not an isolated incident Trump has expressed his intention to acquire Greenland. He's suggested buying it in the past. He's also refused to rule out taking it by force.

He insisted that the island is "crucially located right now, Greenland is covered with foreign naval assets all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Copenhagen is unable to handle it".

Copenhagen refutes that claim. It not long ago pledged to allocate $4bn in Arctic security including boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US operates a defense installation already on Greenland – established at the start of the Cold War. It has cut the number of personnel there from around 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to approximately 200 and the US has often been faulted of taking its eye off Arctic Security, recently.

Copenhagen has suggested it is willing to talk about a larger US footprint on the island and additional measures but faced with the US President's warning of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to control Greenland should be treated with gravity.

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

"These developments has just emphasized – once again – the EU's fundamental shortcoming {