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Earlier today, a so-called Coalition of the Willing, mostly consisting of EU heads of state, convened in Paris with delegates of President Trump, hoping to make further advances on a lasting settlement 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 desired to risk maintaining the Washington onboard.

Yet, there was an immense glaring omission in that opulent and glittering Paris meeting, and the fundamental tension was extremely tense.

Recall the actions of the past week: the US administration's controversial intervention in Venezuela and the US president's assertion following this, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of defense".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's largest island – it's 600% the size of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic but is an self-governing region of Copenhagen.

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

She was subject to urging from her EU allies not to alienating the US over the Greenland issue, in case that undermines US assistance for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have far preferred to separate the Arctic dispute and the debate on the war separate. But with the tensions mounting from Washington and Denmark, representatives of leading European nations at the Paris meeting put out a statement asserting: "Greenland is part of NATO. Security in the Arctic must therefore be attained jointly, in conjunction with NATO allies such as the United States".

"It is for Denmark and Greenland, and them only, to decide on affairs regarding the kingdom and Greenland," the communiqué added.

The communique was received positively by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers argue it was slow to be put together and, owing to the restricted set of supporters to the statement, it failed to project a European Union united in intent.

"If there had been a unified declaration from all 27 member states, plus NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish authority, that would have conveyed a strong signal to the US," stated a EU foreign policy expert.

Reflect on the irony at work at the Paris summit. Several EU government and other leaders, such as NATO and the EU, are attempting to engage the White House in guaranteeing the future autonomy of a continental state (Ukraine) against the expansionist land claims of an external actor (Russia), on the heels of the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela by armed intervention, detaining its leader, while also continuing to publicly threatening the territorial integrity of another continental ally (the Kingdom of Denmark).

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

The dilemma is, were Trump to fulfill his ambition to assert control over the island, would it represent not just an severe risk to NATO but also a significant crisis for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Trampled Underfoot

This is not an isolated incident President Trump has expressed his resolve to dominate the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out taking it by force.

Recently that the territory is "vitally important right now, it is patrolled by foreign vessels all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the vantage point of strategic interests and Denmark is not going to be able to provide security".

Copenhagen contests that claim. It recently vowed to spend $4bn in Greenland defence encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US operates a military base already on Greenland – set up at the onset of the Cold War. It has reduced the total of troops there from approximately 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to about 200 and the US has long been accused of overlooking Arctic Security, until now.

Denmark has signaled it is open to discussion about a larger US role on the island and more but confronted by the US President's warning of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

After the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her colleges across Europe are taking it seriously.

"These developments has just underlined – for the umpteenth time – the EU's basic weakness {