No, and it has actually never been true. By the time Windows 7 was RTM, this issue was resolved. "Windows 7 E" (how it was called) has never been released.
See this for the official explanation from Microsoft:
One reason we decided not to ship
Windows 7 E is concerns raised by
computer manufacturers and partners.
Several worried about the complexity
of changing the version of Windows
that we ship in Europe if our ballot
screen proposal is ultimately accepted
by the Commission and we stop selling
Windows 7 E. Computer manufacturers
and our partners also warned that
introducing Windows 7 E, only to later
replace it with a version of Windows 7
that includes IE, could confuse
consumers about what version of
Windows to buy with their PCs.
The Commission also previously
expressed concerns about Windows 7 E.
In a statement the day after I
outlined our plans for Windows 7 E,
the Commission clarified that it
believes “consumers should be offered
a choice of browser, not that Windows
should be supplied without a browser
at all.”
We’re now confident that shipping
Windows 7 with IE in Europe—as we will
in the rest of the world—is the right
thing to do for our partners and for
our customers. We also feel encouraged
in making this decision by the
positive reaction from so many
quarters to our ballot screen proposal
last week.
