82The French Republic considers, first, that in respect of the 1994-1999 funding period, the Commission was not entitled, in the absence of a legal basis, to apply any financial correction. It is apparent from the very wording of Article 24 of Regulation No 4253/88 that it may make financial corrections only in respect of specific cases. That is what distinguishes the rules applicable to financial corrections in the ERDF for the 1994-1999 funding period from those applicable to the clearance of accounts under the EAGGF-Guarantee. In that regard, the French Government notes that, in the context of the EAGGF-Guarantee, the Court accepted application of the extrapolation method (Case C-118/99France v Commission [2002] ECR I-747 and Case C-344/01Germany v Commission [2004] ECR I-2081). Thus, according to the case-law, the application of the extrapolation method is not in principle prohibited. By contrast, Article 24 of Regulation No 4253/88 provides expressly that the Commission is authorised only to apply specific financial corrections in relation to the irregularity established. Only by virtue of Regulation No 1260/1999 would the Commission be authorised to apply extrapolated corrections. It follows, according to the French Republic, from the foregoing that the application of the extrapolation method is prohibited in principle by Regulation No 4253/88.