19. Notes Commission Recommendation 2008/473/EC of 5 June 2008 concerning the limitation of the civil liability of statutory auditors and audit firms , which calls on Member States to limit the liability of accountants, with due regard for their own national legislation and circumstances; further notes the recommendation's objective of bolstering the level playing-field for undertakings and accountancy firms through greater convergence between Member States in this area; underlines that the objective of limiting the liability of auditors and audit firms proposed by the Commission recommendation must not violate the legal principles gov ...[+++]erning civil liability in certain Member States, such as the principle of the right to compensation for victims; underlines that, within the context of the current economic and financial crisis, the recommendation should not call into question the quality of the statutory audit or the confidence placed in the function of statutory audits; calls on the Commission to inform Parliament no later than in 2010 about the impact of, and the follow-up to, the recommendation, the important issue in this connection being, in particular, whether and to what extent, in accordance with the Directive's objective, the recommendation is leading to greater convergence between Member States; emphasises that, in the event that further measures prove necessary, the Commission must undertake an impact study assessing the possible effects of limitation of civil liability of auditors and audit firms on the quality of audits, financial security and the concentration on the audit market;

19. Notes Commission Recommendation 2008/473/EC of 5 June 2008 concerning the limitation of the civil liability of statutory auditors and audit firms, which calls on Member States to limit the liability of accountants, with due regard for their own national legislation and circumstances; further notes the recommendation's objective of bolstering the level-playing field for undertakings and accountancy firms through greater convergence between Member States in this area; underlines that the objective of limiting the liability of auditors and audit firms proposed by the Commission recommendation must not violate the legal principles gove ...[+++]rning civil liability in certain Member States, such as the principle of the right to compensation for victims; underlines that, within the context of the current economic and financial crisis, the recommendation should not call into question the quality of the statutory audit or the confidence placed in the function of statutory audits; calls on the Commission to inform Parliament no later than in 2010 about the impact of, and the follow-up to, the recommendation, the important issue in this connection being, in particular, whether and to what extent, in accordance with the Directive’s objective, the recommendation is leading to greater convergence between Member States; emphasises that, in the event that further measures prove necessary, the Commission must undertake an impact study assessing the possible effects of limitation of civil liability of auditors and audit firms on the quality of audits, financial security and the concentration on the audit market;

It also reduced the rather favourable compensation per victim of the Athens Convention by applying a global cap according to the limits of the International Convention on Limitation of Liability for maritime Claims as amended by the Protocol of 1996 (LLMC 96) (global limitation of civil liability).

In such case, the amount set out in paragraph 1 applies as the limit of liability of the insurer or other person providing financial security, even if the carrier or the performing carrier is not entitled to limitation of liability.

Parliament sought to eliminate the operators' possibility to limit their liability in accordance with the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims (LLMC), of 1976, or the Strasbourg Convention on Limitation of Liability in Inland Navigation (CLNI), of 1988.

The possibility for the operator to limit his liability under the conditions of the International Conventions on Maritime Claims and Inland Navigation, which is subject to review in the context of a Commission report 9 years after the Directive's entry into force;