Duisenberg said the ECB expects euro zone inflation to show a "subtantial" decline in June from the May peak of 3.4 pct, but that it will not decline smoothly to the 2 pct level after that.
"The road to the level under 2 pct may be a bumpy one. There may be months that inflation stabilises, or even there may be months where it shows a rise, but there will be more months that it shows a decline," he said.
He said that the ECB does not attach much importance to the fact that there is a broad range of national inflation rates in the euro area, but the high inflation figures in the Netherlands and Ireland are a cause for concern.
"That in the Netherlands and, to a lesser extent now, in Ireland, inflation has reached the figures it has reached is in itself a cause of concern, in particular for the Dutch and the Irish authorities, and to the extent that it could have spillover effects to other countries, it would be a concern for us," he said.
"That is one reason why we put so much emphasis also today on the absolute need for wage moderation in the negotiating period that lies ahead of us," he said.
Duisenberg said the ECB also detects some slippage in some countries' plans to cut their public sector deficits and reach a position of balanced budgets or slight surplus, as required by the EU stability and growth pact.
"We are concerned that the current negative environment might reduce the impetus in various countries to reach their (budget) goals," he said.
Asked about reports that the Bush administration wants the ECB to cut interest rates, Duisenberg said he pays no heed to outside advice on monetary policy.
"I do not comment on American monetary policy or fiscal policy in the context of global growth and I also do not listen to advice I get from the outside for our monetary policy," he said.