Starting a PhD in Europe around March?
The answer to your question really depends on which country in Europe you want to go. In Italy all the open PhD positions are assigned in the fall, while in the Netherlands every professor that has own grant can create a PhD position and hire you any time of the year. I guess this reflect also the different status that a PhD student has in these two countries: in Italy you are a student with a scholarship, in the Netherlands you are an employee of the university with a temporary contract.