Abstract. NATO’s activities in 2020 continued the strategic development outlined in the plans of previous years. Turbulence caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has helped broaden NATO’s humanitarian agenda. The main transatlantic controversies persisted, but the election of a new US president is likely to soften and stabilize them. Despite controversial issues within the organization, NATO remains a consolidated alliance under the strong leadership of the United States. This reality determines the further development of the strategy of relations with China, the confrontation with Russia, the expansion of the global political presence of the alliance, including through a «soft power», the overall functioning of NATO in line with American foreign policy. Against this background, the implementation of the strategic autonomy plans by the European Union in the coming years is hardly probable.