The subject and aim of the paper is to present general trends of agricultural development, global conditions, and new concepts and forms of sustainable development. As part of the concept of sustainable development, which has been widely recognized as a development paradigm, in recent years we have seen the emergence of more than a dozen new proposals which modify or complement mainstream sustainable development. These concepts also apply to agriculture and rural areas. Based on an analysis of the literature, this paper presents selected concepts: the green economy, smart specializations, smart villages, the circular economy, responsible consumption and production, and the participatory economy. The role of international integration and EU authorities in disseminating these concepts as forms of innovation in the economic systems of the Member States of the European Union has been identified.