🔗 Share this article

Just this morning, a self-styled Alliance of the Committed, predominantly consisting of EU heads of state, met in the French capital with representatives of the Trump administration, attempting to make additional headway on a durable settlement for the embattled nation.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a roadmap to conclude the conflict with Russia is "largely complete", not a single person in that gathering wanted to risk keeping the Washington involved.

Yet, there was an enormous elephant in the room in that grand and luxurious Paris meeting, and the fundamental tension was exceptionally tense.

Consider the developments of the last few days: the Trump administration's controversial involvement in Venezuela and the American leader's assertion following this, that "our national security requires Greenland from the perspective of defense".

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

At the Paris meeting, Mette Frederiksen, the Danish Prime Minister, was seated facing two powerful personalities representing Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's relative Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from her EU allies not to antagonising the US over the Arctic question, for fear that that affects US assistance for the Ukrainian cause.

The continent's officials would have much rather to keep the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on Ukraine apart. But with the diplomatic heat escalating from the White House and Copenhagen, representatives of leading states at the talks issued a declaration stating: "The island is part of NATO. Security in the North must therefore be attained jointly, in partnership with treaty partners like the US".

"Sovereignty is for Denmark and Greenland, and no one else, to rule on matters regarding the kingdom and Greenland," the statement added.

The statement was received positively by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but analysts say it was tardy to be put together and, because of the limited group of signatories to the declaration, it was unable to project a European Union united in objective.

"Had there been a unified statement from all 27 member states, along with alliance partner the UK, in defense of Danish authority, that would have delivered a strong signal to America," commented a European defense specialist.

Ponder the irony at work at the Paris summit. Multiple European national and other leaders, including NATO and the European Union, are seeking to engage the Trump administration in protecting the future autonomy of a continental state (Ukraine) against the aggressive land claims of an external actor (Russia), immediately after the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela with force, taking its president into custody, while also still openly undermining the autonomy of a different European nation (Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Copenhagen and the US are both members of the defensive pact NATO. They are, as stated by Copenhagen, exceptionally key friends. Previously, they were considered so.

The question is, if Trump were to fulfill his desire to bring Greenland under US control, would it constitute not just an fundamental challenge to the alliance but also a profound challenge for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Trampled Underfoot

This is far from the first instance President Trump has spoken of his determination to control the Arctic island. He's suggested buying it in the past. He's also refused to rule out forcible annexation.

He insisted that the island is "crucially located right now, it is frequented by foreign ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Denmark is unable to handle it".

Copenhagen contests that claim. It not long ago vowed to invest $4bn in Greenland defence for boats, drones and aircraft.

Under a treaty, the US has a strategic outpost presently on Greenland – founded at the beginning of the Cold War. It has cut the total of personnel there from around 10,000 during the height of that era to about 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting the northern theater, until now.

Denmark has indicated it is willing to talk about a expanded US presence on the island and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's assertion of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

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

"These developments has just highlighted – for the umpteenth time – the EU's fundamental vulnerability {