The article says that it will be paid back to Ireland, yet it looks like Ireland was somewhat complicit in allowing this fraud to continue for so long? ' Is this just how it works, money goes to Ireland, and then recovered by Europe?
The EU has now determined this was an illegal tax benefit provided by Ireland, so Ireland must now collect the tax as if it had done so at the time. There is no penalty but interest must be paid.
This is not your normal run of the mill tax avoidance case (or a fraud as you've mentioned) although it appears to look the same. This was Apple benefiting from decisions taken by Ireland that Ireland should not have made.
Edit: Maybe "fined" is not the correct term for this, but my understanding is that Ireland had granted Apple tax benefits which they shouldn't have granted. Isn't Ireland in the wrong here, rather than Apple?
The EU has now stepped in and clarified that Ireland should not have allowed this in the first place.
There is no direct impact for Ireland e.g. a fine but it will create uncertainty for others already operating in Ireland and those considering investment. This uncertainty can be very bad for Ireland for years to come, so there will almost certainly be a penalty, albeit an indirect one.
Would you feel that it is fair that you have to pay up, instead of the institution that wrongfully offered you tax refunds?
1) Apple would have sold their stuff in Europe whether they had to pay full taxes or not, they only wanted a discount. I would probably not pay for the solar panels because I can't afford them.
2) Solar panels are very expensive and would make a huge dent in my balance. That's not the case for Apple.
That said, I think Ireland owes the ECB money too, so they'll probably use that money to repay their debt?
EDIT: Corrected EU->ECB as pointed out below.