27Having regard to the wording of Article 4(7) of the GDPR, read in the light of that objective, in order to establish whether a person or entity is to be classified as a ‘controller’ within the meaning of that provision, it must be examined whether that person or entity determines, alone or jointly with others, the purposes and means of the processing or whether those purposes and means are determined by national law. Where such determination is made by national law, it must then be ascertained whether that law nominates the controller or provides for the specific criteria for its nomination (judgment of 11 January 2024, État belge (Data processed by an official journal), C‑231/22, EU:C:2024:7, paragraph 29).