On the 26th of February the new Development Policy Forum of Friends of Europe organized a round table to discuss the question whether EU Development Aid is entering a new era in the wake of the Lisbon Treaty. Mr. Giles Meritt, secretary General of Friends in Europe opened the round table by saying that the Lisbon Treaty has put Development Cooperation clearly on the agenda, but does not indicate whether the implementation of the Treaty will bolster the role of development aid or rather make it subordinate to other foreign affairs issues. British Minister Gareth Thomas said that the new Treaty was good for development.  He said that in the re-organisation of the European Commission that will follow, a single service for development cooperation should be established that bring together the EU’s development cycle for all developing countries.  A Commissioner for Development Cooperation should be responsible for this service. Eurostep Director, Simon Stocker, who was invited to represent the Civil Society, said that the NGOs fully supported the establishment of a single service.  He stated that the Lisbon Treaty is unquestionably a step forward in defining development cooperation as the principle framework for developing countries. Peace, security and governance definitely have a role to play but as Mr. Stocker emphasized, the main objective of development cooperation needs to be poverty eradication. Development should not be subordinated to security and trade policies and humanitarian aid needs to be autonomous, impartial and neutral. He also said that, although the Lisbon Treaty increases the power of the European Parliament in many areas, the democratic accountability of the Commission remains weak.