Brussels, 06/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 5 June, the ALDE Group in the European Parliament condemned the crackdown in Russia on demonstrators who had gathered to protest against a Bill which would impose fines against those who organise or take part in unauthorised gatherings or in the event of trouble at authorised demonstrations and called the EU to take action. “The new legislative proposal that calls for excessive sanctions against all protesters and today's arrest of Sergei Mitrokhin and others are clear signs that the Kremlin does not take into the account the large scale internal and external criticism over the lack of democracy and rule of law in Russia. Just last weekend during the EU-Russia summit, President Putin indicated that Russia is a country where everybody's civil rights are guaranteed. Unfortunately the reality continues to be different. Thus the EU will have to sharpen the way it deals with Russia”, said Estonian MEP Kristiina Ojuland. “The EU needs a new policy for dealing with Russia, based on objective criticism and on an insistence that democratic standards and the rule of law must be respected before Russia can be regarded as a true strategic partner and move forward on issues like visa free travel”, added ALDE Group leader Guy Verhofstadt.