In order to shorten the overall duration of the procedure in certain cases, Member States should have the flexibility, in accordance with their national needs, to prioritise the examination of any application by examining it before other, previously made applications. The prioritisation of examination of applications should be done without derogating from normally applicable procedures, in particular the admissibility procedure or the accelerated examination procedure, time limits, principles and guarantees. The requirement, under this Regulation, to examine certain applications in accordance with the accelerated or the border procedure should therefore be without prejudice to the flexibility of Member States to decide whether or not to prioritise such applications. In certain circumstances, in particular when families with minors are subject to the border procedure, Member States should prioritise the examination of their application.