Some balkanites are quite dark for Northern European standards too, even if some don't accept being labeled "southern euros".
Many Balkanites I've seen don't look that much diferent from Southern Europeans, but I don't know if they are lighter than Iberians and Italians on average.
Honestly, from my experience on these forums, it's more common for Southern Euros to lightwash themselves than to foreigners darkwash them.
I've seen posts where perfectly looking Meds were classified as mestizos by Spaniards; I've seen people talking about Southern Italians being darkwashed when most people don't even talk about them for some years, and in Italy's case many of these racist Italian nacionalist types can't accept the fact that, while most Southern Italians look generic Southern Europeans, their genetics is borderline European and it reflects on their looks, so it's obviously that in Sicily levantine/swarthy looking types are more common than in Veneto, for example.
But no, they think there's a jewish conspiracy to darkwash Southern Italian genetics.
If that was the case, if there was an agenda to darkwash Italian genetics, then why not darkwash the genetics of all Italians?
Darkwashing Venetians, Lombardians, who are richer than Sicilians and Calabrians, for example, would make more sense, don't you think?
But no, these people are totally blinded by fanatism and lack common sense.