Starting Tuesday, Greece is in the grip of a 48-hour nationwide strike which will block transport and public services as the Parliament debates a new round of austerity measures aimed at securing additional financial support from the EU and the IMF.

Air traffic will be halted in the peak hours, trains and trams will not run, public administration offices, banks and schools will be closed, hospitals will work with reduced personnel and local media outlets will go out of operation during the general strike, DPA has reported.

The latest strike takes place just as Greece is seeking to pass a new austerity package worth EUR 28 B in spending cuts and tax hikes by 2015 in a bid to secure continued funding from a EUR 110 B international bailout package.

The EU and IMF have also made the approval of a four-year privatization program worth EUR 50 B a condition for releasing a EUR 12 B loan installment which the government needs to repay maturing debt next month.

Greece's 300-member parliament began a three-day debate on the new austerity measures Monday, just as it received assurances that French banks are willing to defer Greek debt claims and ease pressure on the debt-ridden country.