Intelligence officers at the State Agency for National Security (SANS) have until November 6 2009 to present their proposals on the agency's counter-intelligence unit.

This emerged after a meeting between Prime Minister Boiko Borissov and SANS employees on November 2 2009, news agencies said.

The meeting was Borissov's attempt to cool tensions at the agency which has been ripped apart by information leaks, scandals and recriminations between former employees alleging ties to organised crime groups as well as political corruption.

In one of his comments on the scandal a week ago, Borissov said that he might shut down the agency unless it changed the way it operated. Several days later he abandoned this plan.

Accompanied by SANS head Tsvetlin Yovchev and Interior Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov, Borissov presented his concept for improving SANS' work. SANS employees were given a five-day period to present their ideas too.

So far Borissov has not defined his own vision for restructuring SANS. He merely said that the aim was to reduce bureaucracy and shelve unproductive departments. 

After a 75-minute long meeting, Borissov told reporters that from now on SANS' name should be mentioned in the context of successful anti-crime operations."I feel optimistic about the agency's future and people's desire to clear its name," he was quoted as saying.

He also said that he had ordered the agency's canteen, closed some time ago, to be reopened. Apparently SANS employees were starting to have lunch in nearby coffee shops and restaurants.

Borissov also said he had imposed a ban on the use of physical force in the agency, referring to statements from former SANS deputy head Ivan Drashkov that a top SANS officer had been physically abused by a colleague in his office.

"Fighting is banned. Whoever wants to fight should come to me at the Council of Ministers," he said.

Borissov also said that any SANS officers who finds proof of corruption among current Cabinet ministers, deputy ministers and mayors from his party quota would be regarded favourably.