The Difficult Questions for NATO and the EU as President Trump Makes Threats About the Arctic Island

This very day, a informal Alliance of the Willing, mostly made up of EU heads of state, met in the French capital with representatives of US President Donald Trump, attempting to make more progress on a sustainable peace deal for Ukraine.

With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky declaring that a framework to end the war with Russia is "nearly finalized", no-one in that meeting wished to risk retaining the US involved.

Yet, there was an immense glaring omission in that opulent and sparkling gathering, and the prevailing tension was profoundly uneasy.

Recall the events of the last few days: the White House's controversial involvement in the South American nation and the American leader's declaration following this, that "we need Greenland from the standpoint of strategic interests".

Greenland is the world's biggest island – it's 600% the dimensions of Germany. It is located in the Arctic region but is an self-governing region of the Kingdom of Denmark.

At the conference, Mette Frederiksen, Copenhagen's leader, was seated opposite two influential figures speaking on behalf of Trump: emissary Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.

She was facing pressure from European allies not to antagonising the US over Greenland, for fear that that undermines US assistance for Ukraine.

EU heads of state would have much rather to compartmentalize the Arctic dispute and the discussions on Ukraine apart. But with the political temperature rising from Washington and Denmark, leaders of leading EU countries at the gathering released a statement asserting: "The island is part of the alliance. Security in the Arctic must therefore be attained together, in partnership with alliance members such as the United States".

"Sovereignty is for Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities, and no one else, to rule on matters related to the kingdom and its autonomous territory," the statement continued.

The communique was greeted by Greenland's prime minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics argue it was slow to be drafted and, due to the small number of supporters to the declaration, it was unable to demonstrate a Europe united in purpose.

"Had there been a unified statement from all 27 EU partners, plus NATO ally the UK, in defense of Copenhagen's authority, that would have conveyed a strong message to America," stated a European foreign policy expert.

Consider the paradox at work at the France meeting. Several European national and other officials, such as the alliance and the EU, are trying to involve the White House in guaranteeing the future autonomy of a continental state (the Eastern European nation) against the aggressive geopolitical designs of an external actor (Moscow), just after the US has swooped into sovereign Venezuela by armed intervention, taking its president into custody, while also persistently publicly undermining the autonomy of a further EU member (the Kingdom of Denmark).

To add to the complexity – Denmark and the US are both signatories of the military bloc NATO. They are, in the view of Danish officials, extremely strong partners. Or were.

The dilemma is, should Trump act upon his goal to bring Greenland under US control, would it constitute not just an severe risk to NATO but also a profound crisis for the European Union?

Europe Risks Being Overlooked

This is not an isolated incident Trump has voiced his intention to acquire Greenland. He's proposed buying it in the past. He's also left open the possibility of forcible annexation.

Recently that the island is "crucially located right now, it is patrolled by Russian and Chinese ships all over the place. It is imperative to have Greenland from the vantage point of national security and Denmark is incapable to provide security".

Copenhagen contests that last statement. It recently vowed to invest $4bn in the island's defense including boats, drones and aircraft.

As per a treaty, the US maintains a military base already on the island – founded at the beginning of the Cold War. It has scaled down the figure of staff there from about 10,000 during the height of that era to about 200 and the US has often been faulted of taking its eye off the northern theater, until now.

Denmark has signaled it is willing to talk about a larger US role on the territory and further cooperation but confronted by the US President's assertion of independent moves, Frederiksen said on Monday that Washington's desire to take Greenland should be treated with gravity.

In the wake of the US administration's actions in Venezuela this past few days, her colleges throughout Europe are heeding that warning.

"The current crisis has just emphasized – once again – the EU's basic shortcoming {