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This very day, a self-styled Alliance of the Willing, largely composed of EU leaders, gathered in the French capital with envoys of the Trump administration, hoping to make more advances on a durable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a plan to conclude the hostilities with Russia is "largely complete", no-one in that room wanted to risk maintaining the Americans engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous glaring omission in that opulent and luxurious gathering, and the underlying tension was extremely strained.

Recall the events of the last few days: the US administration's contentious incursion in the South American nation and the American leader's insistence soon after, that "it is essential to have Greenland from the perspective of defense".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's greatest island – it's 600% the area of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic but is an self-governing possession of Denmark's.

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was positioned across from two powerful figures acting for Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU allies to avoid antagonising the US over the Greenland issue, lest that undermines US support for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have far preferred to compartmentalize Greenland and the negotiations on Ukraine distinct. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of big states at the talks released a communiqué stating: "This territory is part of the alliance. Defense in the North must therefore be attained jointly, in partnership with NATO allies such as the United States".

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

The announcement was received positively by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers contend it was slow to be put together and, due to the small group of supporters to the statement, it did not manage to demonstrate a European Union aligned in purpose.

"Were there a unified position from all 27 member states, in addition to alliance partner the UK, in support of Copenhagen's control, that would have delivered a strong signal to the US," commented a EU defense expert.

Reflect on the irony at play at the Paris summit. Several European national and other officials, including NATO and the EU, are attempting to secure the cooperation of the Trump administration in guaranteeing the future independence of a European country (Ukraine) against the expansionist territorial ambitions of an external actor (Russia), on the heels of the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela militarily, detaining its leader, while also continuing to publicly threatening the sovereignty of another EU member (Denmark).

To compound the situation – Copenhagen and the US are both signatories of the military bloc the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, as stated by Danish officials, exceptionally strong partners. Previously, they were considered so.

The dilemma is, if Trump were to make good on his ambition to assert control over the island, would it represent not just an severe risk to NATO but also a major problem for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is not the first time President Trump has spoken of his intention to acquire the Arctic island. He's suggested purchasing it in the past. He's also not excluded forcible annexation.

Recently that the territory is "crucially located right now, Greenland is frequented by foreign vessels all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the perspective of defense and Copenhagen is unable to do it".

Denmark strongly denies that assertion. It not long ago committed to spend $4bn in Greenland defence including boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a bilateral agreement, the US maintains a defense installation currently on the island – set up at the beginning of the Cold War. It has reduced the total of troops there from about 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to around 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of neglecting Arctic Security, recently.

Denmark has indicated it is open to discussion about a bigger US presence on the territory and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's assertion of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to control Greenland should be taken seriously.

Following the US administration's actions in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts in Europe are doing just that.

"The current crisis has just emphasized – for the umpteenth time – Europe's basic vulnerability {