The Difficult Questions for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the EU as Trump Threatens Greenland

This very day, a informal Group of the Willing, largely made up of European officials, gathered in Paris with representatives of US President Donald Trump, attempting to achieve further progress on a sustainable peace agreement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a roadmap to halt the war with Russia is "nearly finalized", no-one in that gathering wished to jeopardise retaining the Americans involved.

Yet, there was an colossal glaring omission in that grand and glittering Paris meeting, and the prevailing mood was extremely tense.

Bear in mind the events of the past week: the Trump administration's contentious incursion in the South American nation and the American leader's declaration soon after, that "our national security requires Greenland from the standpoint of national security".

This massive island is the world's largest island – it's six times the dimensions of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic region but is an self-governing possession of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was positioned facing two powerful individuals speaking on behalf of Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner.

She was subject to urging from European allies to refrain from antagonising the US over the Greenland issue, for fear that that undermines US support for the Ukrainian cause.

EU heads of state would have much rather to separate the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on Ukraine apart. But with the political temperature rising from Washington and Denmark, representatives of major European nations at the gathering released a declaration stating: "The island is part of NATO. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be achieved jointly, in partnership with treaty partners like the United States".

"It is for Copenhagen and Greenland, and them only, to rule on affairs regarding Denmark and its autonomous territory," the statement added.

The announcement was greeted by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics contend it was tardy to be put together and, because of the restricted set of supporters to the statement, it failed to show a Europe aligned in purpose.

"Were there a common statement from all 27 EU partners, along with NATO ally the UK, in support of Danish authority, that would have conveyed a powerful message to America," commented a European defense expert.

Ponder the irony at hand at the France meeting. Numerous European government and other officials, including the alliance and the European Union, are seeking to engage the White House in guaranteeing the future autonomy of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an outside force (Russia), on the heels of the US has swooped into sovereign Venezuela militarily, taking its president into custody, while also continuing to actively threatening the territorial integrity of a different continental ally (Denmark).

To make matters even more stark – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the military bloc NATO. They are, as stated by Danish officials, profoundly key friends. Or were.

The issue is, were Trump to make good on his ambition to assert control over the island, would it represent not just an fundamental challenge to NATO but also a profound crisis for the European Union?

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Trampled Underfoot

This is not the first time Trump has spoken of his resolve to dominate the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of acquiring it in the past. He's also refused to rule out a military seizure.

Recently that the landmass is "so strategic right now, it is covered with foreign vessels all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of strategic interests and Copenhagen is unable to do it".

Copenhagen strongly denies that last statement. It recently committed to invest $4bn in Arctic security encompassing boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a mutual pact, the US maintains a strategic outpost presently on the island – established at the beginning of the Cold War. It has cut the total of troops there from about 10,000 during peak that era to around 200 and the US has long been accused of neglecting the northern theater, recently.

Denmark has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US role on the territory and more but faced with the US President's warning of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to acquire Greenland should be treated with gravity.

In the wake of the Washington's moves in Venezuela this past few days, her colleges throughout Europe are doing just that.

"This whole situation has just underlined – yet again – Europe's basic vulnerability {