53In that regard, it must be borne in mind that, in accordance with settled case‑law, Article 267 TFEU gives national courts the widest discretion in referring matters to the Court if they consider that a case pending before them raises questions involving the interpretation of provisions of European Union law, or consideration of their validity, which are necessary for the resolution of the case before them. National courts are, moreover, free to exercise that discretion at whatever stage of the proceedings they consider appropriate (see Case C-173/09 Elchinov [2010] ECR I-8889, paragraph 26 and the case‑law cited).
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