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Just this morning, a so-called Group of the Willing, largely composed of European officials, convened in the French capital with representatives of US President Donald Trump, aiming to make further advances on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a plan to halt the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", nobody in that room wanted to risk maintaining the Americans engaged.

Yet, there was an colossal elephant in the room in that impressive and luxurious Paris meeting, and the underlying mood was exceptionally strained.

Bear in mind the developments of the recent days: the US administration's controversial involvement in the South American nation and the American leader's insistence shortly thereafter, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of strategic interests".

This massive island is the world's greatest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic region but is an semi-independent possession of Copenhagen.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was sitting opposite two key figures speaking on behalf of Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from her EU colleagues to avoid alienating the US over the Greenland issue, in case that undermines US backing for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have far preferred to separate Greenland and the negotiations on Ukraine separate. But with the diplomatic heat escalating from Washington and Copenhagen, representatives of leading states at the Paris meeting released a communiqué saying: "The island is part of the alliance. Stability in the Arctic must therefore be attained together, in partnership with alliance members such as the US".

"It is for Denmark and Greenland, and no one else, to rule on affairs related to the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the communiqué continued.

The communique was greeted by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers argue it was delayed to be put together and, because of the small group of supporters to the declaration, it failed to demonstrate a Europe in agreement in objective.

"Were there a unified statement from all 27 European Union countries, along with NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish control, that would have conveyed a strong warning to the US," commented a European foreign policy expert.

Reflect on the irony at work at the Paris summit. Several European national and other officials, from the alliance and the European Union, are seeking to engage the White House in guaranteeing the future sovereignty of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an external actor (Russia), immediately after the US has intervened in independent Venezuela by armed intervention, detaining its leader, while also persistently openly undermining the sovereignty of a further European nation (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both signatories of the military bloc NATO. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, exceptionally strong partners. Or were.

The issue is, should Trump fulfill his ambition to bring Greenland under US control, would it mark not just an severe risk to the alliance but also a major problem for the EU?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

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

Recently that the landmass is "vitally important right now, it is frequented by Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Copenhagen is unable to provide security".

Copenhagen contests that last statement. It recently pledged to spend $4bn in Greenland defence for boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a bilateral agreement, the US has a military base currently on Greenland – founded at the beginning of the Cold War. It has scaled down the figure of staff there from approximately 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to around 200 and the US has long been accused of taking its eye off Arctic Security, recently.

Copenhagen has indicated it is amenable to dialogue about a expanded US presence on the island and additional measures but faced with the US President's assertion of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that the US leader's goal to control Greenland should be treated with gravity.

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

"These developments has just underlined – once again – the EU's basic vulnerability {