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Coming off a contentious NATO summit and a trip to the U.K. in which he seemed to undercut the government of America's closest ally, President Trump took aim at another Western institution just days before his high-stakes meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In an interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor Jeff Glor in Scotland on Saturday, President Trump named the European Union -- comprising some of America's oldest allies -- when asked to identify his "biggest foe globally right now."

"Well, I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now, you wouldn't think of the European Union, but they're a foe. Russia is foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly they are a foe. But that doesn't mean they are bad. It doesn't mean anything. It means that they are competitive," Mr. Trump said at his golf club in Turnberry, Scotland.

"I respect the leaders of those countries. But, in a trade sense, they've really taken advantage of us and many of those countries are in NATO and they weren't paying their bills," he added.

More from Jeff Glor's Interview with President Trump:

On Sunday, British Prime Minister Theresa May told the BBC that Mr. Trump had encouraged her to "sue the EU" rather than negotiate over the U.K.'s departure from the bloc. May's conservative government is deeply split over her handling of Brexit, and her hold on power was further weakened by Mr. Trump's comments to a British tabloid that her approach had likely "killed" any chance of a new trade deal with the U.S. once Brexit is complete. (Mr. Trump tried to walk back his criticism in a joint press conference on Friday.)

At the summit of NATO allies in Brussels last week, Mr. Trump took a hard line toward member nations for failing to meet targeted defense spending goals. He claimed his tough stance had paid off in getting allies to spend more on defense, telling reporters on Thursday that members had "upped their commitments and I am very happy."

The president kicked off the NATO summit by blasting Germany as "totally controlled" and "captive by Russia" over a natural gas pipeline project, known as the Nord Stream 2. The U.S. fears the deal could give Moscow greater leverage over Western Europe. In Saturday's interview, the president reiterated the criticisms he made in Brussels.

"Germany made a pipeline deal with Russia. Where they're going to be paying Russia billions and billions of dollars a year for energy, and I say that's not good, that's not fair. You're supposed to be fighting for someone and then that someone gives billions of dollars to the one you're, you know, guarding against. I think it's ridiculous, so I let that be known also this time," Mr. Trump told Glor. "I'll tell you what, there's a lot of anger at the fact that Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars. There's a lot of anger. I also think it's a very bad thing for Germany. Because it's like, what, are they waving a white flag?"

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who grew up in communist East Germany, told reporters after the president's comments in Brussels that she had "experienced myself how a part of Germany was controlled by the Soviet Union" and said her country today made "independent policies" and "independent decisions.

In the CBS News interview, Mr. Trump also continued to criticize the special counsel's Russia investigation, saying it is having an impact on America's standing in the world. "I think we're greatly hampered by this whole witch hunt that's going on in the United States," the president said. "I think it hurts our relationship with Russia. I actually think it hurts our relationship with a lot of countries. I think it's a disgrace what's going on."

Mr. Trump heads to Helsinki on Sunday ahead of hismeeting with Putinon Monday. He told Glor he has "low expectations" for the summit. "Nothing bad is going to come out of it, and maybe some good will come out," he said.

The following is a transcript of the portion of the interview that aired on "Face the Nation." More of the interview will air Monday on "CBS This Morning," between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., and on "CBS Evening News with Jeff Glor" Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning and welcome to "Face the Nation." President Trump is still in Europe, he's heading next to Helsinki, Finland, for tomorrow's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Yesterday, he spent some time with "CBS Evening News" Anchor Jeff Glor at the President's golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland.

JEFF GLOR: I saw the conversation you had with Jens Stoltenberg which is a very direct conversation, as- as you approach the meetings with Vladimir Putin coming up. Do you expect a similar tone?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: I don't expect anything. I frankly don't expect -- I go in with very low expectations. I think that getting along with Russia is a good thing. But it's possible we won't. I think we're greatly hampered by this whole witch hunt that's going on in the United States. The Russian witch hunt. The -- the rigged situation. I watch some of the testimony, even though I'm in Europe, of Strzok. And I thought it was a disgrace to our country. I thought it was an absolute disgrace. Where he wants to do things against me before I was even, I guess before I was even the candidate. It was a disgrace. And then he lied about it. And you know, talking about shutting it down and 'we, we.' And he says 'oh I meant the American people' all of a sudden you know, he came up with excuses. I guess given to a lawyer, but everybody laughed at it. He was a disgrace to our country. He was a disgrace to the FBI. So when I look at things like that and he led that investigation or whatever you call it. I would say that yeah, I think it hurts our relationship with Russia. I actually think it hurts our relationship with a lot of countries. I think it's a disgrace what's going on. And then you look how, you know, partisan it is. You look at what's going on where -- and they know, they know that there's no way he can get away from those horrible texts that he wrote. So the other side does. But it's a very partisan thing.

JEFF GLOR: The Russians who were indicted, would you ask Putin to- to send them here?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well I might. I hadn't thought of that. But I certainly, I'll be asking about it. But again, this was during the Obama administration. They were doing whatever it was during the Obama administration. And I heard that they were trying, or people were trying, to hack into the RNC too. The Republican National Committee. But we had much better defenses. I've been told that by a number of people. We had much better defenses, so they couldn't. I think the DNC should be ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to be hacked. They had bad defenses and they were able to be hacked. But I heard they were trying to hack the Republicans too. But, and this may be wrong, but they had much stronger defenses.

JEFF GLOR: Who is your biggest competitor? Your biggest foe globally right now?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn't think of the European Union but they're a foe. Russia is foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly they are a foe. But that doesn't mean they are bad. It doesn't mean anything. It means that they are competitive. They want to do well and we want to do well. And we're starting to do well. You see what's going on we have best unemployment numbers probably that we've ever had. Black unemployment is the lowest level in history. Hispanic unemployment the lowest level in history, Jeff. Women unemployment lowest in 66 years. Our numbers are great. Our GDP numbers are far greater than what they thought.

JEFF GLOR: A lot of people might be surprised to hear you list the EU as a foe before China and Russia?

PRESIDENT TRUMP: No I look at them all look, EU is very difficult. I-I want to tell you. Maybe the thing that is most difficult -- don't forget both my parents were born in EU sectors okay? I mean my mother was Scotland, my father was Germany. And -- you know I love those countries. I respect the leaders of those countries. But -- in a trade sense, they've really taken advantage of us and many of those countries are in NATO and they weren't paying their bills and, you know, as an example a big problem with Germany. Because Germany made a pipeline deal with Russia. Where they're going to be paying Russia billions and billions of dollars a year for energy and I say that's not good, that's not fair. You're supposed to be fighting for someone and then that someone gives billions of dollars to the one you're, you know, guarding against, I think it's ridiculous so I let that be known also this time. I'll tell you what, there's a lot of anger at the fact that Germany is paying Russia billions of dollars. There's a lot of anger. I also think it's a very bad thing for Germany. Because it's like -- what are they waving a white flag?

MARGARET BRENNAN: More of Jeff's interview with President Trump in Scotland will air tomorrow on "CBS This Morning" and later on the "CBS Evening News," as well as our digital network, CBSN.

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Trump: "I think the European Union is a foe" in interview ...

President Donald Trump brought the world's two biggest economies to the brink of a trade war Friday by announcing a 25 percent tariff on up to $50 billion in Chinese imports to take effect July 6. Here's how it could affect the U.S. economy and consumers. (June 15) AP

A worker uses a paddle to move cranberries floating in a bog during harvesting on a farm in Ilwaco, Wash. The European Union will start taxing on Friday a range of imports from the U.S., including quintessentially American goods like Harley-Davidson bikes and cranberries, in response to President Donald Trump's decision to slap tariffs on European steel and aluminum.(Photo: Ted S. Warren, AP)

Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the expected price increase for a bottle of Jack Daniel's.

Imagine you're riding an American motorcycle on your way to play cards and drink whiskey with your friends.

For Europeans, that's about to be amore expensive proposition and for American companies, it could translate into lower sales and profits.

The European Union on Friday began imposing tariffs on about $3.4 billion of U.S. products, ranging from industrial goods to consumer items and agricultural products.

The move camein response toPresident Donald Trump's recent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum 25 percent and 10 percent, respectively.

The Trump administration has accused Europe of unfair trade practices and called for lower tariffs. European critics have accused Trump of violating international trade rules.

The trade spat is expected to affect the prices paid by European consumers and companies for everything ranging from certain alcoholic drinks to makeup.

Affected products range widely and include orange juice, yachts, kidney beans, cranberries, cigarettes, shorts, garden umbrellas,upholstered seats andilluminated sign parts.

More: Here are the top 10 most American-made vehicles: Jeep, Ford, Honda top Cars.com list

More: Trump's European car tariff threat could crunch German automakers

More: European Union tariffs on Harleys, peanut butter and other US goods begins Friday

More: Tariff winners and losers: How Trump's trade spat could affect shoppers

More: 5 ways U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum could affect American consumers

Trump isn't backing down. On Friday, he escalated the trade dispute, threatening a 20 percent tariff on cars imported from Europe, which could cost German automakers BMW, Volkswagen and Daimler more than $5.2 billion, according to Evercore ISI analyst Arndt Ellinghorst.

Will companies pass the extra costs along to consumers or absorb the blow and thus lose profits? That remains to be seen.

Here are several key products to watch:

Whiskey makers: American companies shipped $737 million inbourbonwhiskeyto European customers in the 12 months ended March 31, according toPanjiva S&P.

Tennessees distilled spirits industry is bracing for a big hit during the usually lucrative summer season.

The hike would add about 10 percent to the cost of Lynchburg-distilled Jack Daniel's in European countries, according to the company.

Unhappy whiskey customers in London will hurt Tennessee coffers, as decreased sales reduce local tax income and threaten jobs, said Kris Tatum, president of the Tennessee Distillers Guild.

Fifty-five percent of U.S. distilled spirits are produced in Tennessee. Much of that comes from locally made, internationally traded brands Jack Daniels, George Dickel, Ole Smoky, and Corsair.

That (increase) being passed directly to the consumer will hurt revenue, Tatum said. If it decreases revenue there, that hurts our state directly. We dont want anything thats going to stifle their growth or their revenue. Its not good for the industry as a whole, especially during peak season. This is not something we want to see.

Nationwide, there are 1.5 million employees of the distilled spirits industry, according to the Distilled Spirits Council.

"We urge the EU and the U.S. to re-engage as soon as possible to resolve the current situation and prevent needless further escalation," the Council said Friday in a statement.

Farmers and food makers: The U.S. exported nearly $13 billion in agricultural goods to the EU in 2017, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Cranberries, orange juice and peanut butter are among the key products that will be hit with increased tariffs in Europe.

The Massachusetts-based Cranberry Marketing Committee noted that Canadian cranberry farmers would have an edge on Americans because of their duty-free agreement with Europe.

The Farm Bureau believes in negotiations, not additional tariffs, to resolve trade issues," the Farm Bureau told U.S. Senate and House committees in recent statements. "American farmers and ranchers rely heavily on export markets for their business success, especially at this time of reduced farm income. Agriculture needs a growing trade, not a reduced and burdened trade."

Motorcycles: Milwaukee-based Harley-Davidson is at risk as the EU imposes a 25 percent tariff on motorcycles.

That's bad news for a company that isalready reeling from sluggish interest in motorcycles among millennials. And Harley is also facing increased costs from Trump's increased steel and aluminum tariffs.

"We support free and fair trade and hope for a quick resolution to this issue," Harley said in a recent statement. "We believe import tariffs on steel and aluminum will drive up costs for all products made with these raw materials, regardless of their origin."

Makeup companies: The Personal Care Products Council, which represents global cosmetic companies, has expressed opposition to escalated tariffs.

Eye makeup is particularly at risk, according to Panjiva S&P. U.S. exports of eye make-up to Europe totaled $236 million in the 12 months ended in March.

Cosmetics and personal care products companies rely heavily on open markets," the Personal Care Products Council said last week in a statement. "Vibrant international trade is critical to the strength of our industry and enhances our ability to expand manufacturing and employment, and to create the innovative products that consumers around the world trust and enjoy."

Contributing: Benjamin Goad of the Tennessean; the Associated Press.

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2tBIG9B

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European Union tariffs: Retaliation to Trump actions hits ...

The U.S. has been rocked over the last two years by claims that the Russian government directly attempted to meddle in the 2016 presidential election.

Social media companies initially claimed such efforts must have been limited in scope. But this notion was refuted by the recent indictment of 13 Russian nationals for their actions during the election.

The indictment, brought by special counsel Robert Mueller, revealed a highly organized and sophisticated effort to drive a wedge between Americans through social media.

The recent revelations about Cambridge Analyticas potentially illegal harvest of Facebook user information raise further questions about how much American citizens have been manipulated via social media.

Such efforts may be relatively new in the U.S. But they are part of a much larger global push by the Kremlin to affect politics across the European Union and exploit citizens through the internet.

I study computer hacking, malware and the role of the internet in fraud and deception by various actors. And I believe that the Europeans have something to teach the United States about how to protect citizens subject to Russian internet propaganda.

The Russians have keenly recognized that they could subvert the modern dependence on social media as a seemingly trustworthy platform for news and information. They have used Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and websites as tools to launch overt and covert information warfare campaigns against various nations.

The internet is a critical tool for spreading false information or disinformation in the parlance of information warfare to either manipulate or demoralize a nation and its people. Since most people now find news stories online, whether through traditional news media or on social media, governments can engage in campaigns of disinformation on the internet.

The Internet Research Agency is one of the primary arms of the Russian governments propaganda efforts. It operates a troll factory out of St. Petersburg where individuals create and spread false information. The false information is spread through social media posts, comments in news stories and videos posted on traditional journalistic outlets. Its also spread via websites the trolls create.

The Internet Research Agency also operates covertly through false online profiles. In some cases, they create entirely false profiles. In others, they have stolen identities in an attempt to seem like a citizen of a specific place and a true believer in a specific ideology.

These efforts seek to turn average people against their governments or against their fellow citizens and sow mistrust and discontent.

The European Union has been targeted with propaganda efforts by the Internet Research Agency for the last decade, as part of a campaign to destabilize European politics and increase Russian power within the region.

There have been repeated attempts to influence the views of Finnish and German voters. The Internet Research Agency has also attempted to whitewash and legitimize the Russian invasion of the Ukraine.

The current campaign being waged against the U.S. is serious. I believe it merits a response from a trusted source.

Though there are fact-checking websites in the U.S. like Snopes, a threat of this magnitude requires more than just citizen-run or private organization-operated programs.

A government effort to combat fake news would provide citizens with information about the scope of information warfare. It would also create a clearinghouse about fake news that can inform not only the public, but also government agencies and policy-makers. There is no current effort of this sort in the United States.

The EU created a specialized task force in March 2015 to identify the Russian campaigns strategies and expose them to the public. The East StratCom Task Force was formed by the European Council to provide information to the European Union and its member states on the extent of Russian disinformation campaigns.

The task force publishes two weekly newsletters. The Disinformation Review is published every Tuesday to show the latest examples and trends in Russian trolling. Theres also a Disinformation Review Facebook page and Twitter account that has 35,000 followers.

The Disinformation Digest is released every Friday. It features what the pro-government media outlets in Russia are saying and compares that to independent media voices. It also presents trends in Russian social media feeds.

In addition, the task force publishes analyses and reports about specific stories that have begun to trend on social media. Those reports appear as close as possible to the time the stories appear. They help illustrate how hashtagging and trending stories may be falsified and why they can both directly and indirectly benefit the Kremlin.

For instance, they have published analyses of the manipulation of trending stories on the Salisbury poisoning. Thats the incident in which a former Russian spy who was living in England, Sergei Skripal, and his daughter, Yulia, were poisoned by a nerve agent. British Prime Minister Theresa May has accused the Russians of the attack. The task force highlighted Russian disinformation about the incident, including stories that claimed that the West (was) using it to destroy Russias reputation as a peacemaker.

Lastly, they provide briefings to law enforcement agencies across the EU, as well as lawmakers and the general public. This helps to make the role of Russian propaganda a real, tangible problem that can be understood by anyone.

In fact, the U.S. government is already taking steps abroad to combat Russian messaging via a new service operating via Polygraph.info.

The site acts as a counterpart to the European task force, though it is not currently directed to U.S. audiences. Instead it operates via the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, which serves international audiences. It seems plausible that the U.S. government could adapt this tool to directly service U.S. citizens, which could be a tremendous step forward to counter Russian messaging.

The suggestion that the U.S. engage in efforts to formally counter disinformation campaigns from Russia and elsewhere was recently made in a report by Brookings Institution scholar Alina Polyakova and former State Department official Daniel Fried.

It may seem odd to propose that the government run its own campaign to clarify what is real and fake online. But I believe it is necessary in an era where individuals may not be able to fully separate fact from fiction, and legitimate news sources from the disreputable. An effort like this is not government censorship of the news or even of fake news. It is government fighting false information by providing context, analysis and facts.

These EU newsletters provide a way to fact-check stories initially released by social media accounts with no apparent journalistic credentials. Further, their reporting communicates practical insights as to how propaganda campaign messaging fits into broader stories being pushed by the Kremlin that in some way benefit Russia.

Creating similar resources within a government organization like the Department of Homeland Security could go a long way to helping the general public separate truth from reality and become more informed of the real threat America faces from the insidious and manipulative practices of information warfare.

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Busting Russia's fake news the European Union way

A Google logo at Paris-based gadget show Vivatech in June 2017.Photo: AP

Facebook may be having a very bad week stateside and in the UK over its Cambridge Analytica data scandal, but over in the continental European Union officials are maintaining that fellow tech giant Google may ultimately need to be broken up, lest it swallow the internet whole.

Per the Telegraph, the EUs competition commissioner Margrethe Vestagerwho led the charge to fine Google a record $2.7 billion last year for allegedly manipulating online shopping marketsin a decision that is still being appealedtold them in an interview that EU officials still harbor grave suspicions about the search giant. She said that they are still considering whether breaking Google up on anti-trust grounds is the only option to prevent it from becoming too large to challenge without disrupting the economy.

I think it important to keep that question open and on the agenda, Vestager said. We are not there yet but it is important to keep an awakened eye.

Vestager also seemed concerned that Google is still abusing its market position, which is nearly 92 percent of the entire search industry in the EU, to bully competitors out of business despite the fine. In recent interviews, shes said EU officials will be carefully monitoring its compliance reports and that other related investigations into the Play Store and its AdSense business are ongoing. The companys rivals have also accused Google of failing to make legally mandated changes following the 2017 fine.

There is no ban on success in Europe, Vestager told the Telegraph. You get to be dominant and you get a special responsibility that you dont destroy the already weakened competition... We have proven their dominance in search and we have found they have misused this dominance to promote themselves and diminish competitors.

European regulators have long been willing to take much more dramatic antitrust action against dominant companies than their US counterparts, who have largely let tech giants proceed without serious legal challenge.

As Reuters noted, Vestager said last year further cases against Google remained likely, and the European Commission is drafting regulation that would require e-commerce sites, app stores and search engines to be more transparent in how they rank search results and why they delist some services. New EU proposals would also require tech companies to pay a three percent tax on turnover if they make money from user data or digital advertising in a country, per the Guardian, a challenge to the model today, where tech giants typically race to install headquarters in countries where they will be taxed the least.

Vestager told the Telegraph she was not targeting tech companies specifically, adding I think the motives for illegal behaviour are the same for any kind of company. Money, fear, power these motives have been the same across centuries.

[The Telegraph]

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European Union Competition Watchdog Renews Threats to ...

Goals and values of the EUGoals

The goals of the European Union are:

The EU values are common to the member countries in a society in which inclusion, tolerance, justice, solidarity and non-discrimination prevail. These values are an integral part of our European way of life:

These goals and values form the basis of the EU and are laid out in the Lisbon Treaty and the EU Charter of fundamental rights.

In 2012, the EU was awarded theNobel Peace Prizefor advancing the causes of peace, reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe.

The European Union is a unique economic and political union between 28European countries that together cover much of the continent.

The predecessor of the EU was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries that trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict.

The result was the European Economic Community (EEC), created in 1958, and initially increasing economic cooperation between six countries: Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

Since then, 22other members joined and a hugesingle market(also known as the 'internal' market) has been created and continues to develop towards its full potential.

What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organization spanning policy areas, from climate, environment and health to external relations and security, justice and migration. A name change from the European Economic Community (EEC) to the European Union (EU) in 1993 reflected this.

The EU has delivered more than half a century of peace, stability and prosperity, helped raise living standards and launched a single European currency: the euro. More than 340 million EU citizens in 19 countries now use it as their currency and enjoy its benefits.

Thanks to the abolition of border controls between EU countries, people can travel freely throughout most of the continent. And it has become much easier to live, work and travel abroad in Europe. All EU citizens have the right and freedom to choose in which EU country they want to study, work or retire. Every member country must treat EU citizens in exactly the same way as its own citizens for employment, social security and tax purposes.

The EU's main economic engine is the single market. It enables most goods, services, money and people to move freely. The EU aims to develop this huge resource to other areas like energy, knowledge and capital markets to ensure that Europeans can draw the maximum benefit from it.

The EU remains focused on making its governing institutions more transparent and democratic. Decisions are taken as openly as possible and as closely as possible to the citizen.

More powers have been given to the directly elected European Parliament, while national parliaments play a greater role, working alongside the European institutions.

The EU is governed by the principle of representative democracy, with citizens directly represented at Union level in theEuropean Parliamentand Member States represented in theEuropean Counciland theCouncil of the EU.

European citizens are encouraged to contribute to the democratic life of the Union by giving their views on EU policies during their development or suggest improvements to existing laws and policies. The European citizens' initiative empowers citizens to have a greater say on EU policies that affect their lives. Citizens can also submit complaints and enquiries concerning the application of EU law.

The European Union is the largest trade block in the world. It is the world's biggest exporter of manufactured goods and services, and the biggest import market for over 100 countries.

Free trade among its members was one of the EU's founding principles. This is possible thanks to the single market. Beyond its borders, the EU is also committed to liberalising world trade.

The EU is committed to helping victims of man-made and natural disasters worldwide and supports over 120 million people each year. Collectively, the EU and its constituent countries are the world's leading donor of humanitarian aid.

The EU plays an important role in diplomacy and works to foster stability, security and prosperity, democracy, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law at international level.

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EUROPA - The EU in brief | European Union