Bulc, who appeared on the national political scene only last month, will have 15 minutes to outline her vision to the Transport and Tourism Committee, then answer some 45 questions from MEPs and complete the presentation with a closing statement.

By Monday morning she is also expected to submit answers to a special European Parliament questionnaire, which will serve to help MEPs form their opinion about her. Since the three-hour hearing begins only at 7 PM, the committee is expected to take a vote on Bulc on Tuesday.

Heard at the same time although before two other committees will be Slovak candidate Maroš Šefčovič, whose transport portfolio Bulc was assigned after Slovenia's first nominee Alenka Bratušek did not survive the confirmation hearing.

Šefčovič, who has successfully survived the first confirmation vote for transport and space commissioner, is now set to become a European Commission vice-president for energy union, assuming the post first intended for Bratušek.

Former Slovenian Prime Minister Bratušek's poor hearing and the failure to get confirmed earlier this month had been met with a lot of media attention in Slovenia and Brussels.

Once it became clear she would not get parliament's approval, Slovenia appeared on front pages of Brussels media for the first time after it was being mentioned as the next in line for bailout a year and a half ago.

The Slovenian media and parties, be it right- or left-leaning, had criticized Bratušek at the very start of the nomination procedure for putting herself on the list of candidates when her government was leaving office.

What is more, Slovenian members of the European People's Party (EPP) had argued the government should pick a nominee from the EPP pool because they have won the May Eurovote, which further fuelled a negative campaign against Bratušek.

Bulc's nomination is being surrounded by a more positive atmosphere, also because both biggest political groups in the European Parliament, EPP and the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), would like the new European Commission to be appointed as soon as possible.

Her nomination, however, came as a surprise; not only were being several other names mentioned, but she is also totally new to politics, having entered the political arena when the new government was appointed on 18 September.

While the initial response in Brussels was reserved, Bulc made a good first impression after she travelled to Brussels last week for a series of introductory meetings. "Straightforward, well-prepared and a very quick learner" is how she was described by the team of President-elect Jean-Claude Juncker.

Pundits do not expect any major problems at the hearing, with Brussels bulletin EUobserver saying the EU parliament "is not out for blood this time" because both largest groups have an interest to see the new commission take office on 1 November.

Last evening Bulc said she was awaiting the hearing "with calm in her heart", at the same time thanking for the support at home: "I can feel it and I accept it," she wrote on her Facebook profile.

She also praised the support of her "excellent team" with which "we did everything we could in this short period of time to get ready for tomorrow". "We didn't waste a single minute."

But Bulc's political inexperience is being mentioned as the reason why Juncker did not allocate her the vice-presidential post for energy union, but "merely" transport, while opinions differ as to which portfolio is better for Slovenia.

Slovenian parties largely regretted the loss of the vice-presidential post as a very high office assigned to a small country, but Prime Minister Miro Cerar and the Infrastructure Ministry have welcomed the transport portfolio.

Also happy with transport as one of the EU's priority areas is the ALDE group, with which Bulc's Party of Miro Cerar (SMC) is affiliated and is believed to join it.

If Bulc and Šefčovič survive the confirmation votes, the entire Commission would be voted on on Wednesday, meaning it would take over as planned.