Those Difficult Queries for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the EU as Trump Makes Threats About the Arctic Island
Just this morning, a so-called Group of the Committed, mostly made up of EU leaders, met in Paris with envoys of President Trump, hoping to make further progress on a sustainable peace agreement for Ukraine.
With Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky insisting that a roadmap to conclude the hostilities with Russia is "90% of the way there", no-one in that meeting wished to jeopardise keeping the Washington engaged.
Yet, there was an enormous elephant in the room in that impressive and luxurious Paris meeting, and the prevailing mood was exceptionally strained.
Bear in mind the developments of the past week: the US administration's contentious intervention in the South American nation and the President Trump's assertion soon after, that "we need Greenland from the viewpoint of national security".
The vast Arctic territory is the world's greatest island â it's 600% the area of Germany. It lies in the far north but is an semi-independent region of the Kingdom of Denmark.
At the summit, Mette Frederiksen, Denmark's Prime Minister, was seated facing two powerful figures speaking on behalf of Trump: special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's adviser Jared Kushner.
She was facing pressure from her EU counterparts to avoid alienating the US over Greenland, in case that impacts US support for Ukraine.
EU heads of state would have much rather to separate the Arctic dispute and the negotiations on the war apart. But with the diplomatic heat escalating from Washington and Copenhagen, leaders of major EU countries at the talks issued a declaration asserting: "This territory is part of the alliance. Stability in the Arctic must therefore be attained jointly, in cooperation with treaty partners such as the United States".
"The decision is for Denmark and Greenland, and no one else, to determine on affairs concerning Denmark and its autonomous territory," the declaration added.
The statement was greeted by the island's leader, Jens Frederik Nielsen, but critics say it was tardy to be drafted and, due to the restricted set of signatories to the declaration, it failed to project a European Union in agreement in objective.
"Were there a joint statement from all 27 member states, plus NATO ally the UK, in defense of Danish control, that would have conveyed a strong warning to the US," stated a EU defense analyst.
Ponder the paradox at hand at the France meeting. Several European national and other leaders, such as the alliance and the European Union, are attempting to secure the cooperation of the White House in guaranteeing the future sovereignty of a European country (Ukraine) against the aggressive territorial ambitions of an outside force (Russia), on the heels of the US has entered sovereign Venezuela militarily, taking its president into custody, while also persistently actively challenging the territorial integrity of a further European nation (Denmark).
To make matters even more stark â Denmark and the US are both signatories of the transatlantic alliance NATO. They are, as stated by Danish officials, exceptionally key friends. Previously, they were considered so.
The dilemma is, were Trump to make good on his ambition to bring Greenland under US control, would it represent not just an severe risk to NATO but also a major problem for the European Union?
Europe Risks Being Marginalized
This is far from the first instance Trump has expressed his resolve to control the Arctic island. He's suggested acquiring it in the past. He's also not excluded a military seizure.
Recently that the island is "so strategic right now, it is patrolled by foreign vessels all over the place. We need Greenland from the vantage point of defense and Copenhagen is incapable to provide security".
Copenhagen strongly denies that claim. It not long ago pledged to invest $4bn in Greenland defence including boats, drones and aircraft.
Pursuant to a bilateral agreement, the US operates a strategic outpost presently on the island â set up at the start of the Cold War. It has scaled down the total of staff there from around 10,000 during the height of Cold War operations to approximately 200 and the US has frequently been criticized of neglecting Arctic Security, up to this point.
Copenhagen has suggested it is willing to talk about a larger US role on the territory and more but confronted by the US President's warning of unilateral action, the Danish PM said on Monday that Washington's desire to acquire Greenland should be considered a real possibility.
In the wake of the US administration's actions in Venezuela this past few days, her counterparts in Europe are taking it seriously.
"The current crisis has just emphasized â once again â Europe's core shortcoming {
