The European Union on Tuesday said that the European Medicine Agency has not received a request for the approval of Covishield regarding the Covid-19 ‘vaccine green list’ with the EU, amid worries among Indians who got the vaccine facing problems to travel to certain parts of Europe.

According to ndtv.com, it said temporary restrictions on non-essential travel to the EU are in place from many countries, including India, due to the pandemic.

“Concerning a possible EMA authorisation for Covishield, as of yesterday, the European Medicine Agency (EMA) stated that it had not received a request for approval. It will examine any such request when received, as per its procedures,” EU said in a statement.

People vaccinated with Covishield, manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII), are unlikely to be eligible to travel to the European Union member states under the 'Green Pass' scheme as the vaccine is yet to be cleared by the EMA.

Serum Institute of India, which manufactures Covishield, had requested the government to take up the issue of the vaccine's inclusion in the EU 'vaccination passport', sources quoted by ndtv.com said.

"India has a large population. However, not including Covishield into the EU Covid-19 Vaccination Passport will not allow Covishield vaccinated people to travel to European countries and this will affect students, business travellers back and forth, and cause severe disruptions to our economy and to the global economy," Serum Institute CEO Adar Poonawalla had writer to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

Pointing out that the "EU Digital Covid Certificate" is not a pre-condition to travel, the EU said it is meant to facilitate safe free movement during the pandemic within the EU.

"It will serve as proof that a person was vaccinated against Covid-19, received a negative test result or recovered from Covid-19," the EU said.