Resignation of Silvana Koch-Mehrin from the European Parliament

We, the undersigned, call on the European Parliament to withdraw Ms Silvana Koch-Mehrin from the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. The University of Heidelberg has recently determined that Ms Koch-Mehrin plagiarized substantial portions of her 1998 dissertation Historische Währungsunion zwischen Wirtschaft und Politik. Die Lateinische Münzunion (“Historical Currency Union between Economy and Politics. The Latin Monetary Union”) from uncited or incorrectly cited publications of other authors. On June 15th, 2011, the University revoked her doctoral degree.

It is unacceptable that a politician who has been found guilty of academic fraud be allowed to serve on a committee charged with overseeing European research policies and research funding.

We also call on Ms Koch-Mehrin’s party, the German Freie Demokratische Partei, as well as on the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe in the European Parliament, to undertake everything in their power to convince Ms Koch-Mehrin to resign from the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and from her mandate in the European Parliament.

Finally, we call on Ms Koch-Mehrin herself to take responsibility for the academic fraud she has committed and to resign from the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and from her mandate in the European Parliament voluntarily in order to avert further damage to the prestige of these institutions, to the scientific community, and to the country that she represents in the European Parliament.