🔗 Share this article

This very day, a so-called Group of the Committed, largely made up of EU officials, gathered in Paris with representatives of President Trump, aiming to make further progress on a sustainable settlement for the embattled nation.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky asserting that a roadmap to conclude the war with Russia is "nearly finalized", not a single person in that meeting wanted to jeopardise maintaining the Washington onboard.

Yet, there was an colossal elephant in the room in that grand and luxurious summit, and the prevailing atmosphere was profoundly strained.

Consider the developments of the past week: the Trump administration's divisive involvement in Venezuela and the US president's assertion shortly thereafter, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests".

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

At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was sitting opposite two influential individuals acting for Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was under pressure from European colleagues not to alienating the US over the Arctic question, in case that affects US assistance for Ukraine.

The continent's officials would have much rather to keep Greenland and the discussions on Ukraine separate. But with the political temperature mounting from Washington and Denmark, leaders of major EU countries at the Paris meeting issued a statement saying: "Greenland is part of NATO. Security in the Arctic must therefore be attained together, in conjunction with NATO allies such as the US".

"It is for Copenhagen and Greenland, and them alone, to rule on affairs related to the kingdom and Greenland," the declaration further stated.

The announcement was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers argue it was tardy to be drafted and, due to the small group of endorsers to the statement, it did not manage to demonstrate a Europe aligned in purpose.

"If there had been a unified statement from all 27 member states, in addition to alliance partner the UK, in backing of Danish authority, that would have sent a resounding signal to America," stated a EU foreign policy specialist.

Reflect on the irony at work at the European gathering. Several European national and other officials, such as NATO and the EU, are attempting to engage the White House in safeguarding the future independence of a European country (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an outside force (Moscow), just after the US has swooped into independent Venezuela with force, detaining its leader, while also still actively undermining the sovereignty of another continental ally (Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the military bloc NATO. They are, according to Copenhagen, profoundly strong partners. Or were.

The dilemma is, if Trump were to make good on his ambition to assert control over the island, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to the alliance but also a major problem for the EU?

Europe Risks Being Marginalized

This is far from the first instance Trump has spoken of his determination to dominate Greenland. He's proposed purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out a military seizure.

He insisted that the territory is "so strategic right now, it is frequented by Russian and Chinese naval assets all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the standpoint of defense and Copenhagen is unable to do it".

Copenhagen refutes that last statement. It not long ago committed to spend $4bn in Greenland defence for boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a bilateral agreement, the US maintains a defense installation presently on the island – founded at the start of the East-West standoff. It has cut the number of staff there from about 10,000 during peak Cold War operations to around 200 and the US has often been faulted of neglecting the northern theater, up to this point.

Copenhagen has suggested it is amenable to dialogue about a expanded US footprint on the territory and more but confronted by the US President's threat of unilateral action, Frederiksen said on Monday that Washington's desire to control Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

In the wake of the American intervention in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts across Europe are doing just that.

"This whole situation has just underlined – once again – Europe's core weakness {