Europe is not a nice place for either Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) or Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) at the moment, both companies are having a hard time there and seem to be taking whatever is thrown at them on the chin. Wednesday is going to be yet another tough time for these companies, as the EU is expected to hit them with a heavy fine.The fine for Intel is because of its myriad anticompetitive activities at the expense of AMD. According to the Wall Street Journal, this will be one of the largest fines in the history of the EU. If the anticompetetition commissioner wishes, he could fine Intel as much as 10 percent of its annual revenue, meaning they could receive a fine of $3.8 billion fine based on its 2008 revenue.
PC World says that the hearing into Microsoft will take place on June 3-5; this involves the antitrust violation where Microsoft bundles Internet Explorer in to Windows. The European Commission could fine Microsoft, or offer a kill switch or even force them to offer other browsers in Windows.
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