Question Author
It seems many among the other 27 EU members are not happy with Barnier's obfuscating belligerent approach, particularly over the Irish border, which with good will is easily solvable and where he is making an unnecessary mountain out of a molehill for political reasons.
With the (non- Schengen) Republic in the EU, and the North out, some sort of border is still inevitable, but I live only an hour's drive from the non-EU Swiss border, where there is a constant police and customs presence, a few vehicles are stopped for inspection, but most traffic flows freely and the same can apply here too.