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Earlier today, a self-styled Coalition of the Willing, mostly made up of European officials, met in Paris with delegates of the Trump administration, aiming to achieve additional headway on a durable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a roadmap to conclude the hostilities with Russia is "90% of the way there", not a single person in that room wanted to risk maintaining the Americans engaged.

Yet, there was an colossal unspoken issue in that impressive and sparkling gathering, and the fundamental tension was profoundly tense.

Bear in mind the actions of the recent days: the Trump administration's controversial involvement in the South American nation and the American leader's insistence soon after, that "it is essential to have Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's largest island – it's six times the size of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic but is an autonomous region of Copenhagen.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was sitting across from two key individuals representing Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European colleagues not to alienating the US over Greenland, lest that undermines US support for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have much rather to separate the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on Ukraine apart. But with the tensions mounting from Washington and Copenhagen, representatives of leading states at the gathering released a declaration saying: "Greenland is part of NATO. Stability in the North must therefore be attained together, in partnership with alliance members like the America".

"It is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to decide on issues related to the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the declaration continued.

The statement was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts say it was delayed to be formulated and, because of the limited group of supporters to the declaration, it was unable to show a European Union aligned in intent.

"Had there been a common declaration from all 27 member states, along with NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish authority, that would have delivered a powerful warning to Washington," commented a European defense analyst.

Ponder the paradox at work at the European gathering. Multiple European national and other leaders, such as the alliance and the EU, are trying to involve the US administration in protecting the future autonomy of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an foreign power (Moscow), on the heels of the US has intervened in independent Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also continuing to publicly threatening the territorial integrity of a different EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the transatlantic alliance NATO. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, exceptionally close allies. Or were.

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

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is far from the first instance President Trump has voiced his intention to control Greenland. He's proposed purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out taking it by force.

Recently that the territory is "so strategic right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of strategic interests and Copenhagen is incapable to do it".

Copenhagen contests that claim. It not long ago vowed to allocate $4bn in the island's defense including boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a treaty, the US maintains a strategic outpost currently on Greenland – founded at the beginning of the East-West standoff. It has reduced the total of personnel there from about 10,000 during the height of Cold War operations to about 200 and the US has long been accused of overlooking the northern theater, recently.

Denmark has suggested it is open to discussion about a expanded US presence on the territory and further cooperation but faced with the US President's threat of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

In the wake of the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts throughout Europe are taking it seriously.

"The current crisis has just highlighted – once again – the EU's basic shortcoming {