The Member States of the European Union contest the interpretation of the Icelandic government, and consider that a sovereign "guarantee of last resort", similar to the role of central banks as lenders of last resort, is the only way of "ensuring the compensation or protection of depositors" as required by the Directive. The ruling of the European Court of Justice in "Peter Paul and Others", the only case to have considered Directive 94/19/EC, begins: "If the compensation of depositors […] is ensured, …". The ECJ then went on to uphold the immunity of the German authorities from civil liability for alleged failings in banking supervision (as per Recital 24) given that the depositors had been compensated up to the minimum set by the Directive.