Can IMGs enroll in European PhD programs without practicing medicine? And how?

Hello, I'm a North African medical student, and I will be graduating as a doctor in 2 years. Choosing medicine was a foolish decision I've made at the age of 18. There isn’t a premed period in my country, and I think that if it existed, I wouldn’t have continued with medicine. I would rather have gone into another field in biomedical sciences.

I'm thinking of transitioning to academia in the future. I really enjoy the pathophysiology part of diseases; I like reading about new discoveries and anything research related. It seems like I only enjoy the theoretical part of medicine, and I don’t enjoy clinical work.

I was so excited when I learned about PhD programs, but it turns out it’s a little complicated for an IMG. I was wondering if there are IMGs here who got accepted into PhD programs, and if so, please share the eligibility requirements. I’ve been spiraling on this topic for months and haven’t found accurate answers. I was told I needed a master’s in a biomedical science to be eligible, but I also read that my future MD can be eligible too and that I would just need some wet lab experience (labs are outdated in my country, and it’s almost impossible to get training in one as a med student/MD). I’m open to internships or jobs that can help me acquire wet lab skills and any other necessary skills that I wasn’t taught during my medical studies. I also want to be financially independent, and I’m not in a position to afford a new degree abroad (master’s). Any advice will be appreciated.