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WASHINGTON President Obama's new plan for the National Security Agency would significantly curb its authority, ending its vast collection of Americans' telephone records, but at the same time give the spy agency access to millions of cellphone records it currently does not reach.

The compromise, which would require Congress' approval, won praise Tuesday from prominent lawmakers, including leading defenders and critics of the agency. But it faces a lengthy legislative process during which the agency will continue to collect and store the records of millions of U.S. telephone calls.

At a news conference in The Hague, where he took part in a world meeting on nuclear security, Obama said the Justice Department and intelligence agencies had given him "an option that I think is workable" and that "addresses the two core concerns that people have" about the most controversial surveillance program revealed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

Photos: Hacking victims

The first concern, Obama said, was that the government not control a vast archive of U.S. telephone call data. Currently, the NSA collects records of virtually all land-line telephone calls in the U.S. and stores them for five years.

Under the administration proposal, the government would no longer keep that archive. Instead, all telephone companies, including cellphone providers, would be required to keep call records for 18 months, the current industry standard.

The second concern, Obama said, was that the NSA be allowed to search only those phone records under a specific court order. Previously, a blanket court order required telephone companies to turn call records over to the NSA, but no judge scrutinized analysts' decisions about which numbers to look at.

In February, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approved Obama's request to require judicial approval for each search. The new proposal would write that requirement into law, with an exception for emergencies.

U.S. intelligence agencies have to "win back the trust, not just of governments but more importantly of ordinary citizens" around the world, Obama said. Doing so is "not going to happen overnight because I think that there's a tendency to be skeptical of government and to be skeptical, in particular, of U.S. intelligence services," he added.

The new plan should help make Americans more comfortable with the surveillance program, he said. Obama repeated his belief that "some of the reporting here in Europe, as well as the United States, frankly, has been pretty sensationalized," and he said that U.S. intelligence analysts had exercised their authority judiciously. But such power could be abused in the future, he said.

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Obama's NSA compromise plan wins initial praise

President Obama still is disputing Mitt Romney's campaign trail claim that Russia is America's "number one geopolitical foe," despite the international firestorm created by Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea.

The president, speaking at a press conference capping a two-day nuclear security summit at The Hague, was asked about Romney's claim, which the former Republican presidential nominee made during his 2012 race against Obama.

"Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its immediate neighbors, not out of strength, but out of weakness," Obama said. "Russia's actions are a problem -- they don't pose the number one national security threat to the United States."

Obama said he continues to be more worried about a "nuclear weapon going off in Manhattan."

The comment was the latest in a long-running political tiff that was revived by Russia's actions in Ukraine. Romney was derided by Democrats for calling Russia a top foe in the 2012 race, but the former nominee defended himself in an interview on Sunday, in light of the Ukraine crisis. Romney, speaking with CBS' "Face the Nation," said it is Obama who is being nave.

"There's no question [about] the president's naivet with regards to Russia," he said.

Speaking on "Hannity" Tuesday night, Romney reiterated his comments.

"I think the American people understand the facts: Russia is the nation in the world that has opposed us at the U.N. when we wanted to put tougher sanctions on North Korea, opposed us at the U.N. when we wanted to put tougher sanctions on Iran, sides with Assad, in fact, sides with some of the world's worst actors," Romney said. "In terms of who's playing politically against America, of course it's Russia, and of course, the president recognizes it. He may not want to say it."

In case there was any question where Obama now stands on the matter, when a reporter tweeted Tuesday that Obama wouldn't say Romney was right, White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer tweeted back: "[Obama] said he was wrong cuz he was."

Meanwhile, Obama continued to warn Putin not to advance any farther into Ukraine. As for the annexation of Crimea, Obama said it is "not a done deal" in that the international community does not recognize it -- but he acknowledged "there's no expectation that they will be dislodged by force."

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Obama still disputes Romney's claim that Russia top 'geopolitical foe' - Romney: Obama should have seen Ukraine coming ...

In the wake of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, EU governments and the Obama administration see a deep and broad free-trade deal as the best way to create jobs, removing burdens and customs duties on businesses.

But eight months into the talks, public hostility has grown toward the idea of unfettered trans-Atlantic commerce, while negotiators remain far apart on many issues.

Reports of the scale of U.S. National Security Agency spying in Europe have combined with concerns about the potential damage to food safety and the environment under a free-trade pact.

Obama said he had campaigned all his career for consumer rights and environmental protection and would not be party to an agreement that lowered standards. Protesters were reacting to distorted rumors around the trade talks, he said.

In both the United States and Europe, unions worry about job losses or reductions in working standards, and say a trade pact will serve the interests only of multinational companies.

Trans-Atlantic ties

Obama began his visit to Belgium by visiting the Flanders Field American war cemetery, visiting the graves of some of the 368 U.S. service members, most killed during World War I.

His visit and the symbolism of trans-Atlantic unity had added resonance at a time when tensions in Europe are running high because of Russia's military occupation and annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region.

Read MoreEurope 'held hostage' by Russian nat gas: Hamm

"This hallowed ground reminds us that we must never, ever take our progress for granted. We must commit perennially to peace, which binds us across oceans," Obama said.

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Obama to EU: Cut reliance on Russian gas

Saul Loeb | AFP | Getty Images

Barack Obama delivers a speech at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels on March 26, 2014.

President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the Russia-Ukraine crisis "is not another cold war we are entering."

Obama added that Russia must not be allowed to "run roughshod" over its neighbors as it has done in Ukraine.

He added that no amount of propaganda and falsehoods coming out of the Russian government can make right something the world knows is wrong.

Read more Obama to Europe: Cut reliance on Russian gas

The U.S., its allies in Europe and other countries have refused to recognize Russia's recent annexation of Ukraine, denouncing it as an illegal land grab.

Obama says Russia is challenging truths that only a few weeks ago seemed self-evident. He says those truths are that borders cannot be redrawn by force, international law must be respected and people should be able to decide their own futures.

Obama commented during a speech while he is in Brussels for meetings on the situation between Russia and Ukraine.

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Obama speaks out about Ukraine crisis

President Obama and European leaders warned Tuesday of broader economic sanctions on sectors like energy, finance, and arms sales should Russia escalate a delicate situation in Ukraine. Heightened warnings suggest Western leaders are more willing to counter Russia's 'natural gas weapon' with a weapon of their own.

In its showdown with Moscow over Ukraine, the West's 'nuclear option' is a matter of oil and gas.

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Russian energy has appeared largely off-limits as a target of Western sanctions because of the far-reaching impact it could have on the global economy. But the idea is beginning to gain traction among Western leaders who may calculate they have more to gain than lose by constraining Russia's flow of fuel. The threat of energy sanctions, at least, might be enough to deter Russia from moving farther into Ukraine or elsewhere in Eastern Europe.

US and European sanctions against Russia in response to the Crimean annexation have so far been limited to wealthy individuals and a bank connected to Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle. But President Obama and European leaders warned Tuesday that could change if Moscow continues its incursions into eastern Europe.

The US has held off on more broad-based sanctions, Mr. Obama said in a press conference Tuesday with Dutch Prime MinisterMark Rutte, "but, should Russia go further, such sectoral sanctions would be appropriate." Those could include energy, finance, and arms sales, Obama added, and officials are currently analyzing the effect of far-reaching sanctions on the global economy.

Targeting Russia's energy sector could have a devastating impact on Mr. Putin's government, which relies on its state-dominated oil and gas industry for about half of its federal revenues. But officials fear such a move could cause a "boomerang effect" that would have an equally significant impact on the economies of Eastern and Central Europe. The European Union relies on Russia for roughly 30 percent of both its imported gas and oil and has only had limited success in long-standing attempts to diversify its energy mix.

It's why both sides have so far steered clear of sweeping curbs on energy trade flows, opting instead to test the waters by targeting specific businessmen and politicians. But Western leaders sounded a more strident tone at a nuclear security summit in The Hague Tuesday, suggesting they were willing to expand sanctions if the situation escalates.

"[A] highly undiversified economy, like the Russian economy, which is so much oil and gas-dependent, which has not invested in infrastructure, invested in other areas of its economy it will be worried if there is a risk in the financial sector, or in weapons, or in trade, or indeed in energy," Mr. Rutte said at the press conference."There could be potential sanctions; it will hurt them. And as I said earlier, we have to design them in such a way that they will particularly hit Russia and not Europe, the US, Canada, or Japan."

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Obama warns of energy sanctions if Russia escalates Ukraine crisis (+video)