When he took office as European Commission president a year ago, Jean-Claude Juncker promised a "new start" for the institution and for the EU, saying he would "roll up the sleeves and get down to work" shaking up politics as usual in Brussels.

It was a startling statement coming from a man who has been a fixture in European politics for decades — a consummate back-room player. Twelve months later he was already tempering those ambitions, with last week's announcement of a new work program that could best be described as "we'll have more of the same of this new start thing."

Whether Juncker has achieved his goal of saving Europe during a year in which he and other EU leaders often seemed overwhelmed by the Greek debt and migration crises is open to debate. But he has managed to surprise us — whether with his engagingly shambolic State of the Union speech, or his random, jokey asides in press conferences alongside the reliably morose European Council President Donald Tusk, or just with his effusive, touchy-feely-kissy warmth in a town filled with stiff technocrats.

One thing's for certain: While it may not have been "business as usual" for the EU over the past year, it has been "buss-iness as usual" for Juncker, the smoochiest politician ever to pucker up in public.

Here's a look at Juncker's year in pictures. Kissing pictures, mostly.

Ever closer union

Juncker showed early on he was going to be bold — even at an October 2014 summit on the eve of his inauguration. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, never one to be intimidated, showed she was up for whatever was coming.

Starting off slowly

It was just the first meeting of his new Commission, last November, but maybe Juncker could sense he needed to take things slowly. A head-rub first, maybe push the envelope with a kiss later? Carlos Moedas, newly installed as commissioner for research, received a hands-on blessing as he took office, while regional policy commissioner Corina Crețu kept a safe distance. Neither commissioner has been seen much since....

Tough guys need love, too

At a meeting in December, Juncker whispered sweet nothings to Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.

Evasive maneuvers

By February, visiting dignitaries had learned they might need to be ready for an incoming pair of presidential lips. Here, Swiss Minister of Justice and Police Simonetta Sommaruga shows off her technique.

That's close enough, thanks

Juncker and Tusk are politicians of different styles, and at times during the past year have shown there is no love lost between them. They have certainly never been on kissing terms. But in March they were still at least in reasonably close contact with each other. That may no longer be the case.

Hey Joe

Juncker may have met his match in a visit from America's slap-happiest politician, Vice President Joe Biden. He just got a handshake.

Meet-and-grope

Juncker took the kissing and groping to new heights in May, at a summit in Riga, where he accosted a procession of leaders. Kisses, hugs, necktie-grabs and even an insult or two — "Hello, dictator," he said to Hungary's Viktor Orbán — made for a meet-and-greet that may never be equaled in European politics.

The long, Greek summer

In July Juncker was in a less affectionate mood as the EU faced the real possibility that Greece would exit the eurozone — rocking the very foundations of the Union — and Brussels and Athens traded harsh words over bailout terms.

Dome sweet dome

Europe's (many) bald male politicians know it by now: You must bow before the president of the European Commission and present your pate for a ceremonial kiss. Frans Timmermans, the number-two man at the European Commission, looks pretty used to it by now.

Power of the pursed lips

The refugee crisis — which continued to escalate throughout October, as countries bickered over how to respond — often left EU leaders with furrowed brows. Juncker was no exception. At the end of a year of tension and drama, it sometimes seemed as if there were no one left for him to kiss. But it always pays to be ready...

But seriously...

Juncker showed his serious side in a late October speech in Madrid, where he reflected on a difficult year by repeating his statement that Europe "is not going well" and that "there is not enough Union in Europe and not enough Europe in the Union."