Then why does the EU commission believe they need one for their pages that explain these rules? What invasive telemetry are they using?

Are there any websites that don't require these banners?

If you allow users to set font size or language you need a banner btw

They create profiles of visitors that allow them to, e.g. through polls.

It's usually a click or two to "reject all" or similar with serious organisations. Some german corporations are nasty and conflate paywall and data collection and processing consent.