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This very day, a self-styled Group of the Determined, predominantly made up of European leaders, met in the French capital with representatives of President Trump, attempting to achieve further headway on a durable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a framework to end the hostilities with Russia is "90% of the way there", not a single person in that meeting wanted to jeopardise keeping the US engaged.

Yet, there was an colossal elephant in the room in that grand and luxurious summit, and the fundamental atmosphere was extremely tense.

Consider the events of the past week: the White House's contentious intervention in Venezuela and the President Trump's declaration following this, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".

Greenland is the world's biggest island – it's six times the size of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic region but is an semi-independent region of Copenhagen.

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was positioned facing two key personalities acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU colleagues to avoid provoking the US over Greenland, in case that impacts US backing for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have much rather to separate the Arctic dispute and the discussions on the war distinct. But with the political temperature rising from the White House and Copenhagen, representatives of major EU countries at the talks put out a communiqué saying: "The island is part of NATO. Security in the North must therefore be secured together, in conjunction with NATO allies like the US".

"It is for Denmark and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to decide on matters regarding the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the statement continued.

The communique was received positively by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers argue it was tardy to be put together and, because of the restricted group of supporters to the statement, it failed to show a European Union aligned in objective.

"If there had been a common declaration from all 27 European Union countries, in addition to NATO ally the UK, in backing of Danish control, that would have delivered a strong warning to America," noted a EU defense specialist.

Consider the irony at play at the European gathering. Several EU national and other officials, such as NATO and the EU, are trying to involve the Trump administration in protecting the future autonomy of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the expansionist territorial ambitions of an foreign power (Moscow), on the heels of the US has intervened in independent Venezuela with force, taking its president into custody, while also still openly challenging the autonomy of another EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To compound the situation – Denmark and the US are both participants of the defensive pact NATO. They are, according to Copenhagen, exceptionally strong partners. Previously, they were considered so.

The question is, if Trump were to act upon his ambition to acquire Greenland, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a major challenge for the EU?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Marginalized

This is far from the first instance President Trump has voiced his resolve to acquire the Arctic island. He's suggested acquiring it in the past. He's also refused to rule out taking it by force.

Recently that the island is "so strategic right now, it is patrolled by Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests and Copenhagen is not going to be able to do it".

Denmark contests that claim. It has lately vowed to invest $4bn in Arctic security including boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a mutual pact, the US maintains a strategic outpost presently on Greenland – established at the start of the East-West standoff. It has scaled down the number of staff there from approximately 10,000 during the height of the confrontation to around 200 and the US has long been accused of taking its eye off Arctic Security, until now.

Copenhagen has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a expanded US presence on the island and additional measures but faced with the US President's assertion of going it alone, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

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

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