Many data protection authorities are deadbeats. They do the legal minimum, which is to accept complaints, file them, and acknowledge them. Then do nothing. So stale cases just rot.
Data subjects have a right to complain (Art.77) at no cost, but they apparently do not have a right to a free appeal and the art.78 right to sue is not gratis either.
Unlawful inaction can legally be appealed but appeals are costly. DPAs know this, so they enjoy getting away with neglecting to act on Art.77 complaints.
So first I wonder if my legal theory is sound: If we have a right to complain under art.77 at no cost and the DPA neglects to investigate, then by extension we could argue that a right to complain at no cost implies a right to appeal inaction at no cost. Is that a weak argument? Do we need to ask EU lawmakers to specifically guarantee the right to a free appeal of DPA inaction?