142In addition, the applicants claim that even though the belated communication of the objections can be attributed to the Commission, the principle of time-barring is also applicable. The Commission no longer has the right to transmit the objections in accordance with the general principle that the administrative authority must exercise its powers in reasonable time (Case 45/69 Boehringer v Commission [1970] ECR 769, paragraph 6). Unlike decisions closing proceedings as to the substance, which require an extended preparatory inquiry, the question of granting access to the file to third parties could have been examined and decided at any time, before the hearings took place. At that stage of the procedure, the Commission could only refuse the FPÖ's participation since the objections had been sent to the banks concerned, the hearings had already taken place, the facts were determined and the proceeding was practically closed. Consequently, that transmission, the essential function of which was to allow the complainant, before the hearing, to contribute to the determination of the facts and to prepare for the hearing, would have no purpose.
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