By Malcolm Brabant
BBC News, Athens
As many as two million people in Greece are to hold a 24-hour strike against the imposition of austerity measures. More than half-a-million civil servants are set to abandon their posts. It is the second general strike in two weeks and coincides with growing anger in Greece over the way the European Union has responded to the crisis. The action is set to be the biggest since Greeces socialist government introduced cuts to bring the countrys debt and deficit under control. Greece currently has a public deficit - the difference between what the government spends and the funds it receives though taxation and other measures - of 12.7%. This is more than four times higher than eurozone rules allow, and Athens has pledged to reduce this to 8.7% this year under an austerity plan that involves major cuts in public spending. At the same time it is trying to reduce the 300bn euros ($419bn; £259bn) total national debt. Under the governments deficit reduction plans, it aims to freeze public sector salaries, raise the retirement age to 63 by 2015, and increase taxes on petrol, alcohol and tobacco. Acropolis closed For the second time this month, Greek air space will be shut down and the country will be isolated from the rest of the world for 24 hours. Archaeological sites, including the Acropolis, will be closed to tourists, chipping away at the countrys international image. One million members of the GSEE, the main private sector union, are also expected to obey the strike call. GSEE spokeswoman Zoe Lanara said the cuts were misguided, because they were more likely to generate collapse than recovery. Despite the protests, it looks like government will be forced to implement even tougher measures to meet Europes demands. On Tuesday, the credit ratings of Greeces four largest banks were downgraded by ratings agency Fitch, a move that may worsen the countrys financial woes. Analysts said the move would make it more expensive for the banks to borrow funds, and the government to get loans. Greece is due to report back to fellow eurozone nations next month on how well its efforts are progressing. Finance ministers from the other 15 nations that share the single currency have warned that the Greek government may have to adopt further measures if the ones currently being enforced are not shown to be working fast enough. At the weekend, Greeces Prime Minister, George Papandreou, told the BBC that Greece was not looking for a financial bail-out from other European countries. He said that Greece was instead looking for political support from across Europe to enable it to borrow money at the same interest rates as other countries.
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