40As regards the argument put forward by the Commission in the alternative, based on Article 8 of Regulation no 729/70, it must be borne in mind that, according to the case-law of the Court, the Member States must, in the first place, respect the obligation of general diligence in Article 5 of the Treaty, as specifically embodied in Article 8(1) and (2) of Regulation No 729/70 with regard to the financing of the common agricultural policy. That obligation implies that the Member States must take steps to rectify irregularities promptly (Case C-54/95 Germany v Commission [1999] ECR I-35, paragraph 177).
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