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This very day, a so-called Group of the Willing, largely consisting of EU leaders, convened in the French capital with envoys of US President Donald Trump, aiming to make more headway on a sustainable settlement for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a plan to conclude the war with Russia is "nearly finalized", no-one in that meeting desired to endanger maintaining the Americans onboard.

Yet, there was an enormous unspoken issue in that grand and glittering Paris meeting, and the fundamental tension was exceptionally tense.

Bear in mind the events of the recent days: the Trump administration's divisive incursion in the South American nation and the American leader's assertion shortly thereafter, that "it is essential to have Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".

This massive island is the world's biggest island – it's six times the size of Germany. It lies in the Arctic but is an self-governing possession of Denmark's.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was seated opposite two key personalities acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from her EU allies not to provoking the US over Greenland, in case that affects US backing for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have far preferred to compartmentalize Greenland and the negotiations on Ukraine apart. But with the political temperature rising from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of leading EU countries at the talks put out a declaration asserting: "The island is part of NATO. Stability in the North must therefore be achieved jointly, in conjunction with treaty partners including the America".

"It is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and them alone, to determine on issues related to Denmark and Greenland," the declaration added.

The announcement was welcomed by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was delayed to be formulated and, due to the small number of signatories to the statement, it did not manage to demonstrate a European Union aligned in purpose.

"Were there a common declaration from all 27 European Union countries, along with NATO ally the UK, in support of Danish sovereignty, that would have conveyed a powerful signal to America," noted a European foreign policy specialist.

Ponder the paradox at work at the Paris summit. Several European national and other leaders, including NATO and the EU, are attempting to engage the Trump administration in guaranteeing the future autonomy of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an outside force (Russia), just after the US has entered independent Venezuela by armed intervention, arresting its head of state, while also continuing to publicly challenging the autonomy of a different European nation (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the defensive pact NATO. They are, according to Copenhagen, extremely close allies. At least, they were.

The issue is, should Trump fulfill his goal to assert control over the island, would it represent not just an existential threat to NATO but also a major crisis for the EU?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Overlooked

This is not the first time President Trump has expressed his determination to dominate Greenland. He's proposed purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out a military seizure.

Recently that the island is "crucially located right now, it is frequented by Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Denmark is unable to provide security".

Copenhagen strongly denies that assertion. It not long ago vowed to spend $4bn in Greenland defence for boats, drones and aircraft.

Pursuant to a treaty, the US maintains a military base presently on the island – established at the onset of the Cold War. It has cut the number of personnel there from around 10,000 during peak that era to around 200 and the US has long been accused of overlooking polar defense, until now.

Copenhagen has suggested it is amenable to dialogue about a larger US footprint on the territory and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's threat of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to take Greenland should be taken seriously.

After the Washington's moves in Venezuela this weekend, her colleges in Europe are taking it seriously.

"The current crisis has just emphasized – once again – the EU's fundamental vulnerability {