Today the new Action of EPANEK: Self-employed Lawyers Grant was published, which concerns the support in the form of a grant to self-employed lawyers affected by the pandemic COVID-19 due to the non-physical operation of the courts.

Objective of the Action: subsidy for self-employed lawyers is the upgrade of the digital infrastructure of their offices in order to be able to provide their services via videoconference, but also to be able to use modern technological tools in the process of administering Justice, in courts and penitentiaries of the country, thus limiting the loss of income and supporting their ability to respond to the demands of digital modernization of their offices.

Applications are eligible for a grant of between €500 and €2,000, depending on 2019 income, for digital modernisation costs .

Beneficiaries who started in 2020 may apply for and receive a maximum grant of 1,500 euros.

The budget of the Action is 20.000.000 euros.The Action is co-financed by the European Social Fund (ESF) of the European Union and national resources.

Conditions for participation in the Self-employed Lawyers' Grant

Beneficiaries of the Action are the self-employed lawyers, as natural persons, registered with the Bar Association, who operate legally in the country and have started at the competent Tax Office until 31/12/2020.

Please note that legal entities of any kind are excluded.

Eligible expenditure

In order to digitally modernise the offices of self-employed lawyers, the following costs of supplying equipment are exclusively subsidised:

• PC
• laptops
• routers
• webcams
• Microphones
• earphones
• Speakers
• video conferencing systems
• scanners/multifunction devices
• video conferencing/projection screens

The eligible costs shall be the costs of acquiring fixed assets for which the acquisition cost of each distinct piece of equipment is not more than EUR 1 500 and up to the grant thresholds.

Indicatively, supplies for: mobile phones, tablets, mobile telephony connections, servers, all kinds of software (in addition to the necessary software for the basic operation of computers and laptops), subscriptions to databases are not eligible.

Important dates

Electronic Submission Start Date: Wednesday 16/06/2021 at 13:00

Electronic Submission End Date: Friday 30/07/2021 at 15:00

The starting date for eligibility of expenditure is 1 June 2021. The deadline for the completion of the projects cannot exceed 3 months from the date of issue of the Integration Decision, while the completion of the investment can in no case exceed the end of 2021.

More information about the action here.