is not acceptable. Koch-Mehrin later announced that she would relinquish her seat on the committee. Debate attendance During the campaign for the 2009 European Parliament election, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) criticised Koch-Mehrin for attending only 39% of the parliamentary debates, not counting maternity leave. She answered back and gave a statutory declaration that she had participated in 75% of the debates. The European Parliament then published a corrected number of 62%, with maternity leave taken into consideration. This figure would later be corrected to 75% without maternity leave, like she had stated earlier. Since giving a wrong statutory declaration is a criminal act, the European Parliament's administration reviewed additional attendance lists Koch-Mehrin provided. Mehrin's party urged a preliminary injunction against the FAZ, but withdrew it soon after, due to the fact of her stating a true statement. Later career In 2013, Koch-Mehrin founded the Women in Parliaments a Global Forum (WIP), a worldwide network of female politicians. WIP is an independent, non-partisan and not-for-profit foundation. Its mission is to advance society by increasing the number and influence of women in political leadership. The foundation have had numerous conferences, of which the most recent ones have been held in Jerusalem, Nairobi and Beirut. The organisation has undertaken two studies so far; Social Media: Advancing Women in Politics? and The female political career. Political positions In 2005, Koch-Mehrin called for all EU Member States to follow Germany in banning public displays of Nazi symbols. Her idea was roundly rejected by a number of countries who saw it as a restriction of free speech. Personal life Koch-Mehrin met her partner James Candon at the end of a stage both completed at the European Commission. In 2020, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. See also 2004 European Parliament election in Germany 2009 European Parliament election in Germany Footnotes External links 1970 births Living people Free Democratic Party (Germany) MEPs MEPs for Germany 2004–2009 MEPs for Germany 2009–2014 21st-century women MEPs for Germany People involved in plagiarism controversies