67Accordingly, the date on which the national authorities became aware of an irregularity is irrelevant to the starting point of that limitation period. Apart from the fact that there is nothing in the wording of Article 3(1) of Regulation No 2988/95 enabling an inference to the contrary, it has already been pointed out, in paragraph 64 of the present judgment, that the national administration has a general obligation of due diligence in the verification of payments which it makes from the EU budget, which means that it must take steps to rectify irregularities promptly (see, to that effect, judgments in Ze Fu Fleischhandel and Vion Trading, C‑201/10 and C‑202/10, EU:C:2011:282, paragraph 44, and Cruz & Companhia, C‑341/13, EU:C:2014:2230, paragraph 62).
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