L 271/14 Official Journal of the European Union 15.10.2005 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1687/2005 of 14 October 2005 amending Regulation (EC) No 2869/95 on the fees payable to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) with regard to adapting certain fees (Text with EEA relevance) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark ('), and in particular Article 139(3) thereof, Whereas: (1)  Article 139(2) of Regulation (EC) No 40/94 lays down that the amounts of the fees payable to the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Office’) are to be fixed at such a level as to ensure that the revenue in respect thereof is sufficient to ensure its budget is balanced. (2) A considerable increase in the Office’s revenue is expected in the medium term, as a result, in particular, of the payment of renewal fees for Community trade marks. (3)  The accession of the European Community to the Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the international registration of marks approved by Council Decision 2003/793/EC (%) (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Madrid Protocol’) and the administration of the electronic registration procedure should simplify the said procedure and decrease its costs. The efficiency of the Office’s management should also reduce expenditure. (4 A reduction in fees would therefore be an appropriate measure for ensuring that the budget is balanced as required, while fostering access to the system for users. Nonetheless, it should be pointed out that a slight surplus is always justified, as it makes it possible to deal with more or less unforeseeable situations as they arise, and to avoid undesirable deficits. (5) It would therefore be justified to modify the fees by an overall total of approximately EUR 35 to 40 million per () OJ L 11, 14.1.1994, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 4221/2004 (O] L 70, 9.3.2004, p. 1). () OJ L 296, 14.11.2003, p. 2. year. This sum should be divided between the application and registration fees on the one hand, and the renewal fee on the other. Moreover, a lower fee should be provided for if the application is made electronically. (6)  Fluctuations in the main indicators should be monitored regularly in order to ensure that revenue is balanced with expenditure. (7)  Commission Regulation (EC) No 2869/95 () should therefore be amended accordingly. (8)  The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee on Fees, Implementation Rules and the Procedure of the Boards of Appeal of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trade Marks and Designs), HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 2869/95 is hereby amended as follows: 1. The table in Article 2 shall be amended as follows: (a) Point 1 shall be replaced by the following: ‘1. Basic fee for the application for an individual 900 mark [Article 26(2), Rule 4(a)] (b) The following point 1b shall be inserted: ‘1b. Basic fee for the application for an indi- 750 vidual mark by electronic means [Article 26(2), Rule 4(a)] (®) OJ L 303, 15.12.1995, p. 33. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 1042/2005 (O] L 172, 5.7.2005, p. 22).