Northern Cyprus uses the Turkish lira as legal tender rather than the euro which links its economy to that of Turkey's. Since the Republic of Cyprus joined the Eurozone and the movement of peoples between the north and south has become more free, the Euro is also in wide circulation. Exports and imports have to go via Turkey; while European Union promised an opening up of the ports after the Annan plan, this was blocked by the Republic of Cyprus and exporting through the south, while technically possible, remains impractical.