Microsoft is preemptively making concessions to the EC that I feel increase the odds of Window 7 shipping on time.
Specifically, the company has proposed removing Internet Explorer from European SKUs of Windows 7. That may be enough to overcome objections that the EU has about middleware being bundled with Windows. A lawsuit brought in by browser maker Opera Software has yet to be decided, and that is the great unknown. The European Commission notified Microsoft that it may be ruling against the company.
In February, I wrote that Microsoft had a contingency plan in place to ship Windows 7 in January instead of October if the EU were to take action against it. That would mirror the Vista launch and miss the holiday season... That would be bad for Microsoft and bad for the industry.
Removing IE from Windows might be enough to pacify the regulators. I'm more convinced now than ever that Windows 7 will ship on time—unless the EU has a more aggressive remedy in mind.