ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS (REGULATION) [ CAP. 399. price and quality on the basis of effective competition, by maintaining the security of networks and services, by ensuring a high and common level of protection for end-users through the necessary sector-specific rules and by addressing the needs, such as affordable prices, of specific social groups, in particular end-users with disabilities, elderly end-users and end-users with special social needs, and choice and equivalent access for end-users with disabilities: Provided that where the European Commission establishes benchmarks and reports on the effectiveness of the measures taken by the Authority towards achieving the objectives referred to in this sub-article, the Authority shall, where necessary, assist the European Commission. (2) The Authority shall, in pursuit of the policy objectives referred to in sub-article (1), inter alia: (a) promote regulatory predictability by ensuring a consistent regulatory approach over appropriate review periods and through cooperation with other national regulatory and competent authorities in other Member States, with BEREC, with the RSPG and with the European Commission; (b) ensure that, in similar circumstances, there is no discrimination in the treatment of providers of electronic communications networks and services; (c) apply national law and European Union law in a technically neutral fashion, to the extent that this is consistent with the achievement of the objectives set out in sub-article (1); (d) promote efficient investment and innovation in new and enhanced infrastructures, including by ensuring that any access obligation takes appropriate account of the risk incurred by the investing undertakings and by permitting various cooperative arrangements between investors and parties seeking access to diversify the risk of investment, whilst ensuring that competition in the market and the principle of non-discrimination are preserved; (e) take due account of the variety of conditions relating to infrastructure, competition, the circumstances of end-users and, in particular consumers in the various geographic areas in Malta including local infrastructure managed by natural persons on a notfor-profit basis; and (f) impose ex-ante regulatory obligations only to the extent necessary to secure effective and sustainable competition in the interest of end-users and relax or lift such obligations as soon as that condition is fulfilled. 9