The Balkan nations have suffered for centuries under the Ottoman rule and the fact they survived is a small miracle, while the Germanic nations were infatuated with the Ottomans and actively supported them hoping to strike good deals and even colonize the Asia Minor region. The idea of eliminating the Christian populations of Asia Minor was a "Germanic" plan and Germany sent advisors like the Jew von Sanders to organise the genocide. Not to mention that Austria vehemently rejected the prospect of Greek indepedence during the early 19th century at the time Greek revolutionaries fought under undescribeable conditions agaisnt an allmighty enemy.

So, while Iberians and other Meds do have their shortcomings, it's not that "northern Europeans" didn't play a part in the image you see today by driving countries like Greece and Serbia to the brink of destruction.