The Difficult Issues for NATO and the EU as President Trump Makes Threats About Greenland

This very day, a informal Alliance of the Willing, largely made up of European officials, met in the French capital with envoys of the Trump administration, hoping to make further headway on a sustainable peace agreement for Ukraine.

With President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a roadmap to halt the hostilities with Russia is "nearly finalized", not a single person in that room wished to jeopardise keeping the Americans involved.

Yet, there was an immense glaring omission in that grand and glittering Paris meeting, and the prevailing atmosphere was profoundly uneasy.

Recall the actions of the last few days: the US administration's controversial incursion in Venezuela and the President Trump's insistence following this, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of defense".

The vast Arctic territory is the world's greatest island – it's six times the area of Germany. It is situated in the Arctic region but is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was seated opposite two powerful personalities representing Trump: diplomat Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from European colleagues to refrain from antagonising the US over the Arctic question, for fear that that impacts US support for Ukraine.

Europe's leaders would have far preferred to keep the Arctic dispute and the debate on Ukraine separate. But with the diplomatic heat escalating from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of major states at the talks put out a statement asserting: "This territory is part of the alliance. Defense in the Arctic must therefore be secured jointly, in cooperation with NATO allies such as the US".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and Greenland, and them only, to decide on issues related to the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the declaration continued.

The announcement was received positively by Nuuk's head of government, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but observers say it was tardy to be drafted and, because of the limited set of signatories to the statement, it was unable to show a Europe aligned in purpose.

"Were there a common position from all 27 EU partners, plus NATO ally the UK, in backing of Copenhagen's authority, that would have conveyed a resounding warning to America," noted a European foreign policy analyst.

Ponder the paradox at play at the European gathering. Several EU government and other officials, such as the alliance and the EU, are attempting to involve the US administration in safeguarding the future autonomy of a EU nation (Ukraine) against the aggressive land claims of an outside force (Russia), just after the US has intervened in sovereign Venezuela with force, detaining its leader, while also still actively challenging the territorial integrity of a further EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Copenhagen and the US are both participants of the transatlantic alliance the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. They are, in the view of Danish officials, exceptionally key friends. Or were.

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

Europe Faces the Danger of Being Trampled Underfoot

This is far from the first instance Trump has expressed his intention to dominate the Arctic island. He's floated the idea of purchasing it in the past. He's also refused to rule out taking it by force.

On Sunday that the territory is "vitally important right now, it is frequented by Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. Our security demands Greenland from the vantage point of national security and Denmark is unable to do it".

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

As per a bilateral agreement, the US maintains a defense installation currently on the island – established at the onset of the Cold War. It has reduced the figure of troops there from around 10,000 during peak the confrontation to about 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of taking its eye off the northern theater, until now.

Copenhagen has signaled it is amenable to dialogue about a bigger US footprint on the island and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's assertion of independent moves, the Danish PM said on Monday that Trump's ambition to acquire Greenland should be considered a real possibility.

In the wake of the Washington's moves in Venezuela this past few days, her fellow leaders throughout Europe are heeding that warning.

"The current crisis has just highlighted – once again – Europe's basic vulnerability {