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Earlier today, a informal Alliance of the Willing, mostly made up of EU leaders, convened in the French capital with envoys of President Trump, hoping to achieve further advances on a lasting peace agreement for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a plan to end the conflict with Russia is "90% of the way there", no-one in that gathering wanted to jeopardise retaining the Americans engaged.

Yet, there was an enormous glaring omission in that grand and luxurious gathering, and the fundamental mood was exceptionally strained.

Recall the actions of the past week: the Trump administration's divisive intervention in Venezuela and the President Trump's declaration soon after, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's biggest island – it's sixfold the area of Germany. It is located in the far north but is an semi-independent possession of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was positioned facing two influential personalities acting for Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU counterparts not to alienating the US over the Greenland issue, for fear that that impacts US assistance for the Ukrainian cause.

Europe's leaders would have greatly desired to separate the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on the war separate. But with the tensions escalating from the White House and Denmark, leaders of major EU countries at the talks issued a declaration saying: "The island is part of the alliance. Security in the North must therefore be attained jointly, in partnership with NATO allies such as the United States".

"Sovereignty is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to decide on affairs regarding the kingdom and Greenland," the declaration added.

The communique was greeted by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics contend it was slow to be formulated and, due to the small set of endorsers to the statement, it was unable to show a European Union in agreement in purpose.

"If there had been a common declaration from all 27 European Union countries, in addition to alliance partner the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's control, that would have delivered a resounding message to the US," stated a EU foreign policy expert.

Ponder the irony at work at the France meeting. Several European national and other officials, such as the alliance and the European Union, are seeking to secure the cooperation of the US administration in guaranteeing the future sovereignty of a EU nation (the Eastern European nation) against the hostile land claims of an foreign power (Russia), immediately after the US has intervened in independent Venezuela with force, detaining its leader, while also persistently actively threatening the territorial integrity of another continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both members of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Copenhagen, extremely key friends. Previously, they were considered so.

The dilemma is, should Trump act upon his desire to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a major challenge for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Marginalized

This is far from the first instance President Trump has voiced his determination to dominate Greenland. He's floated the idea of buying it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of taking it by force.

Recently that the island is "crucially located right now, it is patrolled by foreign ships all over the place. We need Greenland from the perspective of strategic interests and Denmark is not going to be able to do it".

Denmark refutes that last statement. It not long ago vowed to invest $4bn in Arctic security including boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a mutual pact, the US operates a defense installation currently on the island – established at the onset of the East-West standoff. It has reduced the figure of personnel there from around 10,000 during the height of that era to approximately 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of neglecting Arctic Security, recently.

Copenhagen has indicated it is amenable to dialogue about a larger US footprint on the island and more but confronted by the US President's assertion of going it alone, Frederiksen said on Monday that Washington's desire to control Greenland should be treated with gravity.

After the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts in Europe are heeding that warning.

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