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A member of the European Parliament has bowed to pressure from Germany's major higher education and research organisations and stepped down from her new post in the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, following plagiarism accusations.

Weeks after Germany's defense minister was forced to resign in a plagiarism scandal, three German universities say they are investigating similar complaints about the academic work of three figures from the country's political sphere.

Denmark has been rocked by a science fraud case involving a high-profile professor of medicine specialising in brain research. The case has also embroiled the rector of Copenhagen University, the previous minister of science and a number of co-authors, and has undermined the public view of science.

The Italian cabinet has ordered the roll-out of a national accreditation scheme for academics to stamp out nepotism. Under the new scheme, commissions of five senior academics appointed in each university will accredit applicants for associate or full professorships on the basis of the quality and quantity of their academic output.

A new research shows the extent of nepotism in higher education. Overall, the country's higher institutions are 10 times more likely than other places of work to employ two or more members of the same family. This grip of family fiefdoms is blamed for a nationwide brain drain.